Candidates who lost Saturday’s governorship election and their supporters on Tuesday protested the outcome of the poll and vowed to challenge the results in court.
There were protests by the Peoples Democratic Party supporters in Ogun and Nasarawa states just as the All Progressives Congress in Kano State gave the Independent National Electoral Commission seven days to declare the governorship election in the state inconclusive.
In the results of the governorship election declared so far by INEC, the APC has won 15 states, the PDP won eight, while the New Nigeria Peoples Party emerged victorious in Kano State.
A protest by the PDP members in Ogun State turned violent when an official of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps fired a gunshot into the air to disperse protesters, who stormed the INEC office in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Scores of the PDP members led by the party’s candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, had marched to the INEC office, where they rejected the result of the election, which Adebutu lost to the state Governor, Dapo Abiodun, who is the APC candidate.
Pandemonium however broke out when security operatives prevented the party members from entering the premises. During the confusion, an NSCDC official fired a gunshot in an attempt to disperse the protesters.
The angry protesters pursued and pelted him with stones as he ran away when they angrily advanced towards him.
Some security personnel including officials of the Department of State Services were injured during the melee.
The protesters, who were singing anti-INEC songs, were bearing placards with inscriptions such as “INEC should save our democracy”, “INEC betrayed the people of Ogun”, “Electoral fraud will not stand”, INEC should respect people’s wish”, “INEC should stop being biased” and “Ogun election was inconclusive, INEC correct yourself”, among others.
But, the protesters were denied access to the INEC office by heavily armed security operatives.
Credit: punchng.com
