Imo Bye-election: 100 INEC staff abducted, forced to thump print – REC cries out

Hundreds of ad-hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Saturday’s Imo by-election for Ngor Okpala State Constituency were, abducted, taken to an unknown destination and were forced to thump print on the ballot papers.

The INEC Imo state Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Professor Chukwuemeka Ezeonu, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the happenings around the bye-election.

The REC warned that those ballot papers from the abducted INEC ad-hoc staff, would not be accepted by the NEC.

According to the Imo REC, “We have received the report of violence of election and disruption of polls on some polling units and attacks on our personnel. So far no casualty has been reported.

“Security men have been up and doing to rescue some of our staff trapped in the violence. We remain grateful to them and pray for them to succeed in the work they are doing.

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“We have noticed with great worries an abduction of some of our Ad-hoc staff with the election materials towards the end of the polls. While the earlier violence started with the snatching of election materials it ended with the abduction of our staff, ballot papers and materials. Some of our abducted Adhoc staff were blindfolded and taken to an unknown destination where they were compelled to thump print the ballot papers.”

“We wish to reassure the general public that the results manufactured from unknown places will not be collected. The number of votes cast must be tallied with the number of accredited voters,” REC said.

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