Rivers Youths Bust INEC Officials Thumprinting Ballot Papers

A group of youths in Rivers State at the weekend found some
people believed to be officials of the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) thumb printing ballot papers in
Khana, a community in Ogoniland.
The officials are believed to be carrying out the act to justify
the results posted for the National Assembly elections.
A source said: “One of the officials disclosed that the action
was arrived at to justify the results tendered and provide
evidence in preparation for tribunal.”
The youths later handed over the materials seized from the
officials to Senator Magnus Abe, who was the All Progressives
Congress (APC) Rivers South-East Senatorial candidate.
Abe, at a news conference yesterday which was also attended
by the Director-General of the Greater Tomorrow Campaign
Organisation, Victor Giadom, urged the Criminal Investigation
Department (CID) unit of the police to investigate and prosecute
the INEC officials and policemen involved in the act.
Abe said: “As you can see before me are INEC ballot papers
from Khana. At about 12noon (Thursday), youths stumbled on
some INEC officials in their office in Bori, where they brought in
presiding officers and supervisors to thumbprint ballot papers
and doctored results all in favour of PDP.
“I called the Area Commander, Bori and the DPO who told me
the INEC officials were in Bori to collect their stipends on the
last elections; I called CP Karma, who asked me to report the
matter to the CID; I decide to inform the Nigerian public before
proceeding to the police CID.”
Abe urged INEC chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega to redeploy the
Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Gesila
Khan, before next Saturday’s elections “for showing executive
recklessness in collaboration with PDP and the police”.
He also called for the cancellation of the “concocted elections,
because the votes counted in favour of the PDP were not cast
by Rivers people.