Former President Goodluck Jonathan has demanded the detention and criminal prosecution of political thugs who assaulted and set on fire the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, distribution centre for election materials in Okodi Town, Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.
According to information obtained by Obasanjonews24, the voting materials for Ogbia Wards 2, 4, and 5 were all set ablaze at around 3:00 in the morning.
After casting his ballot at polling place 039 in ward 13 at Otuoke in the Ogbia Local Government area at around 8:47 a.m., the former president spoke with media and denounced the criminal activities and urged state security personnel to see to it that those responsible were brought to justice.
He said that despite the relative peace in most areas around the LGA, he was extremely upset by the burning of materials in the affected wards, adding that no one should be permitted to meddle with the nation’s election system.
He said, “It’s quiet here, but I’m worried because within my Local Government Area, in Constituency 2, stuff was burned down. All individuals engaged in the act must be apprehended and prosecuted, and if the police fail to do so, we would be tremendously unhappy.
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Nobody should tamper with our election process; the days of lawless behaviour are over; we are going forward as a nation; the world is watching; and we must put an end to it. Those folks need to be held accountable, and the police, DSS, and Army must make sure that happens.
He also used the opportunity to praise Nigerians for their tenacity and attention from the time of the country’s primary elections till the general election, saying that this is how we should behave.
Nigerians have resolved that they must choose their leaders, and that any nation in which this is not possible would perish. We must operate a system in which all elections for leadership positions, including the presidency, are decided by popular vote and not by party.
I didn’t suggest they shouldn’t go to court; the Nigerian election process includes both field voting and the judicial procedure. We circulated during the election season to encourage people not to enact laws on their own since the legal system is essential to the process. In actuality, I requested that you refrain from creating a scene if you participate in the election and are dissatisfied, continue to seek redress through the legal system, and are unsuccessful.
If you have a case, you should go to court as part of the procedure. We need those procedures to enhance our election processes because if people don’t take INEC to court, it just indicates that INEC can do anything it wants and get away with it.
