Edo: APC Supporter in Critical Condition After PDP Shooting in INEC, Commission Adjourns Inspection of Materials Sine Die

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By Correspondent

Loyalists of the People’s Democratic Party and members of the disbanded Edo State Security Network (ESSN), yesterday October 10, 2024, invaded the premises of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), shooting sporadically. Several persons were injured, including supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The action of the thugs forced INEC to adjourn inspection of materials sine die.

The shooting by ESSN and PDP thugs hindered the inspection of electoral materials used for the conduct of the just concluded off-cycle governorship election in Edo State that was won by Senator Monday Okpebholo. Midwest Herald gathered that the shooting led to the adjournment of the inspection of the materials.

Eye witnesses told Midwest Herald that the actions of the thugs led to a tense atmosphere following sporadic gun shots at the Head Office of INEC where the court ordered inspection of election materials was taking place.

It will be recalled that the inspection of the electoral materials used for the September 21, 2024 governorship election, which was billed to commence on Wednesday, could not take place as planned following an objection raised by the APC against the inspection.

The party had insisted that the exercise should commence with the voter register and not with the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System, BVAS.

The party further argued that since they were served with the schedule a few minutes before the inspection, they did not come for the inspection with their copy of the registered voters, this led the adjournment of the exercise to yesterday Thursday October 10, 2024.

However, trouble started yesterday, when the exercise was about to commence as APC, through its Edo State Chairman, Emperor Jarrett Tenebe, drew the attention of the INEC Director of Operations to a petition, alleging that BVAS machines and voter registers were on brought into the INEC complex with vehicles from the state government house last Wednesday October 9, 2024.

Tenebe requested that, the party’s petition should be addressed before commencing the inspection of materials, but this was sternly objected to by legal representatives of PDP who insisted on the commencement of material inspection.

PDP argued that the APC petition was frivolous, and cannot supersede a valid court order and demanded for the commencement of the inspection.

Following the inability of the two major parties to agree on the way forward, INEC adjourned the inspection without giving any further day date.

The APC Victor Ohionsumua, while speaking to journalists after the adjournment, explained the party would only return for the inspection of the materials after their petition has been addressed.

He said: “This morning, (Thursday), we submitted a petition to the state INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Onuoha Anugbum, the Commissioner of Police and Department of State Services, DSS, in Edo that we noticed and saw BVAS machines and voters’ register entering INEC complex a few days ago with Edo State Government vehicles.

“And on the basis of that, we raised the objection that the petition has to be determined first before we can go ahead with the inspection of the materials. The INEC legal officer wanted to go ahead with the inspection without any directives from the state REC

“We insisted that we must hear from the REC and our petition must be determined before we move forward. In the process, the place (INEC office) became rowdy and we started hearing gunshots outside the complex.

“The INEC Director of Operations then said that because of security reasons, as our lives are in danger, he decided to adjourn the inspection sine die and he has not told us to come back tomorrow (Friday),” he said.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Labour Party, LP, which came third in the election, Kelly Ogbaloi, maintained that the atmosphere at the state INEC head office was not conducive for the inspection to commence.

Ogbaloi said: “The experience here is a total melee and not a conducive atmosphere for which an exercise of that kind can take place. It is in my view, therefore, that the agency and the political parties concerned must come together and look at what they can do to ensure that the exercise is conducted

“For me, a level playing field should be given to those who are contesting the outcome of the election. In order that we can get to a platform that is acceptable to the generality of the people of Edo State.

“For today, there is a total disagreement between APC and PDP and I am not sure any exercise can happen here today.”

The APC Chairman, Emperor Jarret Tenebe, has condemned the entire events that has taken place at the INEC office in Benin City, where some leaders of PDP brought thugs and ESSN members to invade the inspection location with guns where APC supporters were critically injured.

Tenebe avowed that his party will not fold its arms and watch PDP compromise the inspection process of voting materials used in the just concluded Governorship elections as ordered by the tribunal, a process which the PDP now seeks to manipulate, with altered voters’ registers and compromised BVAS machines.

The chairman who had earlier raised alarm over buses loaded with BVAS and election materials that were brought INEC from Government House, filed a petition to that effect, and demanded that INEC and other relevant security agencies in the state, to prevent the PDP from tampering with the INEC’s declared results.

Midwest Herald had earlier reported how Governor Godwin Obaseki was forced out of the INEC office in Benin City in the early hours of Sunday September 22, 2024 by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Frank Mba, the officer in charge of the state governorship election.

Obaseki had stormed the INEC office to stop the announcement of results and allegedly manipulate the outcome of governorship poll results, which he noticed favoured Senator Monday Okpebhollo of the All Progressive Congress (APC).