OBINNA Chidoka, representing Idemili North and Idemili South Federal Constituency of Anambra has called on I-G Mohammed Adamu to  investigate the killing of two men during the March 9 re-run election in Obosi community.

Chidoka made the call while speaking to newsmen in Obosi, Idemili North, Anambra on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) organised a re-run in 26 polling units in Obosi and some parts of Abatete after violence marred the collation of results during the  Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections in Anambra.

But in spite of the assurances by security agencies for adequate provision of security, the  March 9 re-run recorded more hiccups with the death of two persons and gunshot injuries to more than six persons in Obosi.

Chidoka, who narrated the gory experience he had at the scene of the killings, said he escaped death by the whiskers.

“I was using my smart phone to video the commotion which resulted from the sudden order by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), who was posted to Obosi on the eve of the election from Achalla Police Station that the collation of results at Chuke Memorial Primary School, the ward collation centre be moved to Ogidi, the Local Government Headquarters when I started hearing gunshots.

“I was standing less than 10 metres across the road from Chuke Memorial Primary School, while the shooting lasted.

“My orderly rushed me to a container used for mini shop but the owner who was already inside locked it and refused to open for us after we knocked and knocked.

“At that point, I decided to hide myself beside condemned tyres and goods until the shooting done by the Police and DSS personnel who parked their vehicles there ended,” he said.

“At the end of the incident, I was driving out when I saw the convoy of the Commissioner of Police and turned back to meet him, it was then that we uncovered that two persons were killed during the shooting by Police and DSS personnel,” he said.

The federal lawmaker said that he could not believe the story attributed to the Police in Anambra that the death of the two persons in Obosi on March 9 resulted from rival cult clash.

He noted that after the Obosi incident, the security agencies and some INEC officials disappeared with the election materials and later produced results which was totally against real results from the polling units.

Chidoka said that that the I-G should look into the matter and direct that autopsy be conducted to unravel the cause of deaths of the two persons.

He also called on INEC to void the re-run election, adding that the  Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections had already produced results for all polling units in Idemili North and Idemili South Federal Constituency.

“After the interruption of collation of results at Chuke Memorial Primary School, Obosi on Feb. 23, the Police submitted duplicate copies of results from various polling units to INEC.

“It was these results that INEC used to return the outcome of Presidential and Anambra Senatorial Central elections for Idemili North.

“My question is what then happened to the results of polling units across Obosi which police equally had in their custody, why did they not also tender them,” he said.

Chidoka, who used the medium to condole with the families of the two persons killed and sympathised with those who sustained injuries, appealed to Obosi people to be calm over what he described as a sham that took place in the town on March 9.

Reacting to why the re-run was conducted, Dr Nkwachukwu Orji, Anambra Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), said INEC  relied on the Police report when they ran into problems following disruption of collation of the constituency election result at Chuke Memorial Primary School, Obosi.

Also, SP Mohammed Haruna, Anambra Police Command Public Relations Officer, said that the duplicate copies of polling units results it tendered to INEC were based on the request of the commission.

“You can go back to INEC and find out from them why they requested for only the documents we gave them,” he said. (NAN)

– Mar. 11, 2019 @ 13:59 GMT |