Imo bye-election: Gunmen abduct INEC staff, manipulate BVAS

Imo bye-election: Gunmen abduct INEC staff, manipulate BVAS INEC, the Independent National Electoral Commission, expressed concern on Saturday about the kidnapping of some of its Adhoc staff in Imo State. Prof. Francis Ezeonu, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the State, revealed this during a press briefing on Saturday. Unknown gunmen kidnapped some of the Commission's ad-hoc staff who were deployed to Imo's Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area for the state's House of Assembly bye-election, according to Ezeonu. He also claimed that the abductees were being forced to thumbprint ballot papers and manipulate the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, and he called on security agents to ensure the staff's safe return (BVAS). He also confirmed that violence and disruption of the voting process occurred in some polling stations. "We've received a distress call from some of our ad hoc employees who were kidnapped, blindfolded, and taken to unknown locations." "They're being forced to thumbprint the ballot papers," he said, adding that "our situation room has received several phone calls alluding to the same." He reassured the public that results obtained from unknown sources would not be collated, claiming that anyone who engaged in such deception was chasing the wind. The REC urged law enforcement agencies to beef up security to ensure a smooth results collection process.   » via DJ MoreMusic
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