By Ezinwanne Onwuka
● Off-cycle governorship polls in Nigeria witness high-level irregularities
It was another sad tale of massive vote buying and outright vote rigging as Nigerians came out on Saturday in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States to elect their next governors. Irregularities and malpractices held sway despite the high deployment of security personnel to the polling units.
Arrested: 14 vote buyers in the three states. Intercepted: N11,040,000 [$13,733] from the electoral fraudsters, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] said. During elections in Nigeria, party agents usually compete with one another on who pays more and buys more votes. Reported bribes to voters range from N1,000 [$1.244] to N10,000 [$12.44].
The electoral commission pledged to investigate reports of pre-filled result sheets before the commencement of voting in some voting centers in Kogi. In parallel to elections conducted earlier in February and March, the technology deployed for the election reportedly fell victim to “glitches,” just as thugs disrupted the voting process and hijacked the election materials, raising doubts about the electoral commission’s promise to conduct credible, free, and fair elections.
Read more: https://guardian.ng/politics/inec-confirms-incidences-of-pre-filled-result-sheets-in-kogi/
● Catholic priest counters police, gives credit to Fulani community for his rescue from kidnappers
Rev. Fr Andrew, the parish priest of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Godo-godo in Kaduna State, has said a Fulani community saved him from the throes of death, according to The Pillar. Kaduna Police, on the other hand, gave themselves credit in a report of police authorities cited by TruthNigeria on Nov. 7.
Fr Anana was abducted very late at night on November 4, 2023, from his parish rectory. Four gunmen speaking the Fulani language stormed his house unexpectedly. While the uninvited visitors banged the door to gain a forceful entrance, the priest screamed for help, but none came. The kidnappers eventually took Fr. Anana away to a thick forest.
Fr Anana told The Pillar that his abductors blindfolded him, undressed him, and clubbed him mercilessly with sticks and a machete after they had struck a deal on the sum to be provided by the church authorities for his freedom. The initial demand was ₦50,000,000 [$62,200], but it was reduced to ₦4,000,000 [$4,976].
A local woman heard his wailings and alerted the village. “When the woman told them that she heard noises in a certain direction, they surrounded the whole place,” the priest recounted. The kidnapped priest was rescued, and two of the criminals were apprehended and handed over to the police.
Read more: https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/kidnapped-nigerian-priest-rescued
● We are ready to crack down on terrorists: Defence Minister
Bello Matawalle, Nigeria’s minister of state for defence, has allayed the concerns of well-meaning Nigerians and the international community who query the might of the Nigerian military in combating insecurity and terrorism in Nigeria.
Matawalle said President Bola Tinubu has been very supportive of the military. “The president has tried a lot by giving us all we need to work,” the defence chief told reporters in Abuja, “So, we have no reason to complain and to fail Nigerians because, all we need, he has already provided for us.”
He also disclosed that the military has taken delivery of top-notch military choppers from Turkey. “We have keyed into modern technology,” the defence boss said, “We are ready for the challenges confronting us. Nigerians should be very proud of this government. We will be thrilled to work for the country.”
Read more: https://nannews.ng/2023/11/12/defence-minister-our-military-well-equipped-for-modern-warfare/
● Police sustains crackdown on bandits in Katsina
The police command in Katsina State announced on Monday that it rescued three villagers who were taken hostage after a gang of bandits raided Gogalo village in Jibia County. The attack occurred at about 10:00 p.m. last Saturday [Nov. 11].
The police authorities said they got a distress call and immediately mobilized officers to the village. The officers arrived too late to foil the attack but combed nearby bushes to rescue the abducted victims. “The team continued to comb the surrounding bushes until November 12; at about 6:00 a.m., the team succeeded in tracking down the suspected kidnappers, engaging them in a gun duel. All the kidnapped victims were successfully rescued unhurt,” according to a police press release.
Also during the weekend, a joint team of police and local citizen guards exchanged fire with terrorists who stormed Yankar village in Faskari County, killing 22-year-old Nazifi Ibrahim, one of the notorious bandits in the area.
● Results of Nigeria’s off-cycle elections announced
Governor Hope Uzodimma of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress [APC] emerged the winner of Saturday’s off-cycle governorship poll in Imo State. The sitting governor secured another four-year term in office with 540,308 votes. He swept all 27 Counties in the Southeast State.
In Kogi State, the ruling party’s candidate Usman Ododo also won. He polled 446,237 votes to beat his major rival Muritala Yakubu Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party [SDP] who got a total of 259,052 votes.
Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State also retained his seat as governor of the oil-rich State for a second term. The PDP candidate won the election with a total of 175,196 votes while his APC rival Timipre Sylva trailed far behind with 110,108 votes.
Read more: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/11/13/uzodimma-ododo-win-imo-kogi-diri-leads-in-bayelsa
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Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
