INEC Fumes, says commissioner deployed to Adamawa stripped naked, brutalized

Festus Okoye, the national commissioner for INEC, requested that the criminals be apprehended by security forces.

Security agencies have been directed by the Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC) to apprehend and bring charges against people who attacked one of its national commissioners deployed to Adamawa State for Saturday’s supplemental governorship election.

Festus Okoye, the national commissioner for INEC, revealed this to reporters in Birnin Kebbi on Sunday.

“If you see what is trending, two national commissioners were deployed to Adamawa State,” he stated. One of them was beaten and the other was stripped naked. We won’t permit that to stand.

“The perpetrators of that particular incident must be identified by the security agencies. They must be detained, looked into, and prosecuted. A national commissioner cannot be treated like a regular criminal.

“A senior gentleman was stripped naked and dragged by a former vice chancellor of Usman Dan Fodio University. That will not stand, according to this commission.

Aisha “Binani” Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared the winner of the governorship race, according to Okoye, who also stated that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa, Yunusa Ari, had arrived Abuja.

He declared, “The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Adamawa State wields what we call delegated authority; power granted to him by the Independent National Electoral Commissioner.

“The powers granted to him do not include acting as the collation and returning officer. He therefore has no legal authority of any kind to declare and return.

Okoye added that the supplementary election’s results collation has been put on hold.

When declaring Binani the winner of the poll against incumbent Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at around 9am on Sunday, the INEC REC sparked outrage.

Results from 10 LGAs had been announced before the collation procedure was put on hold on Saturday night, and Binani was behind Fintiri.

Mele Lamido, the returning officer for the Adamawa governorship election, was not present when Ari proclaimed Binani as the winner of the poll. The collation of results from the remaining 10 LGAs was anticipated to begin by 11am on Sunday.

Lamido is the legitimate representative authorized by the constitution to announce the election’s winner.