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Sunday, February 26, 2023

Gunmen attack polling units, burn ballot papers in Lagos

The unknown gunmen came in around noon and started shooting. They collected some of the thumb-printed ballot papers and set them on fire.

• February 25, 2023
Scattered ballot papers
Scattered ballot papers

Some unknown gunmen, on Saturday, attacked and disrupted the presidential and National Assembly elections at some cluster units in Mafoluku, Oshodi area of Lagos.

It was gathered that about six gunmen came on motorcycles to the area and started shooting to scare away the voters.

The gunmen attacked Owoseni, Ijaye, Branco, Owolabi, and Fadeyi streets, among others that formed the cluster units, collected some of the ballot boxes containing papers already thumb printed and set them on fire.

“The unknown gunmen came in around noon and started shooting. They collected some of the thumb-printed ballot papers and set them on fire.

“The hoodlums ran away when armed police and soldiers arrived at the place,” Mr Jonah Obisanya, an electorate said.

The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Idowu Owohunwa, who visited the area at about 1:07 p.m., evacuated 25 ad-hoc INEC officials from the units attacked and took them to the police command headquarters.

The officials were later taken to Oshodi Local Government Council with electoral materials.

Mr Owohunwa said some suspects had been arrested in different parts of the state for electoral offences.

He, however, did not mention the number of arrests made, stressing that a vast number of people arrested will be made known to the public.

The police boss said that the exercise has been peaceful in most parts of the state despite pockets of violence in some areas.

He said that some of the violence observed in some areas were expected, stressing that special squads were put in place to immediately check them.

The police boss said no one died in the crisis so far, pointing out that security had been beefed up in the areas concerned.

Some of the ad hoc staff that sustained injuries were treated by the police medical unit at the state command. 

(NAN) 

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