INEC official taken hostage following boat mishap in Bayelsa

An INEC official verified that the Supervising Presiding Officer (SPO) assigned to registration area 06 in Ossioma, Sagbama Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, has been kidnapped.

Reportedly, election materials, including result sheets meant for 5,311 registered voters, were lost when a boat carrying election staff to registration area 17 in Koluama Community, Southern Ijaw LGA, crashed.

The incident was disclosed in a statement by Wilfred Ifogah, Head of Voter Education and Publicity at INEC State Headquarters in Yenagoa, who stated that it occurred on Friday.

When the INEC official was waiting to board a boat at a nearby wharf at Amassoma Community in Southern Ijaw LGA, Ifogah reported that the official—whose name was unknown at the time this report was filled out—was kidnapped.

“We wish to confirm that a boat carrying personnel to registration area 17 (Koluama) in Southern Ijaw LGA capsized. Fortunately, all 12 election personnel and the boat operator were rescued, so no lives were lost,” he added.

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“But we misplaced our result sheets, power banks, and staff members’ personal belongings in the luggage.

“There are 5368 registered voters in the impacted registration area overall, and 5311 PVCs have been collected.” To guarantee that elections are held in the impacted area, INEC is working hard.

While waiting to board a boat at Amassoma jetty, the SPO assigned to registration area 06 (Ossioma) in Sagbama LGA was kidnapped, according to reports from the INEC. There has been notification to the security agencies,” he stated.

As of the publishing of this article, CSP Asinim Butswat, the police spokesman for Bayelsa State, had not taken any action in response to the occurrence. He had not returned calls or messages.