Gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections turnout
Reports from social media suggest that agents and thugs associated with the APC have been engaging in ethnic discrimination, attempting to disenfranchise certain groups across the nation.
In Lagos.
People on Twitter report that “people who look Igbo” were turned back and bullied. This person says in Ajah, they tore ballot papers and beat up her and her aunt.
Another person reported that in Isolo, INEC officials were signalling thugs to tyrannize people at the polls whose names “look Igbo”.
In this thread, a woman named Joy shares that she was accosted and threatened by a man who was very vocal about forcing people to vote for APC/Babajide Sanwo-Olu
In a video from a polling unit in Surulere, an INEC rep is seen telling people they don’t plan to upload the election results electronically. Which is against the electoral law.
The Youth Party House of Assembly candidate for the Lekki/Ikate Eti Osa Local Government writes that the party was excluded from ballot papers.
Residents of Onireke are protesting the APC-powered voter suppression in their area. In this video, the residents are marching and chanting “we must vote”.
There are also various reports of polling units changing last minute and INEC officials refusing to go to the assigned polling units.
Members of Arise News’ team reporting at Elegushi Palace, in Lekki, Lagos were arrested and their reporting materials seized, allegedly because they were recording voter suppression in the area.
Ebonyi
A woman voting in Ebonyi shared that she was bullied and beaten when APC terrorists in the area forced her to show them her ballot paper and they saw she had not voted for the APC candidates.
It's a disgusting day.
Since the presidential elections
Atiku vs INEC
PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and his council have withdrawn their court order to inspect the election ballot material and other sensitive INEC used in the presidential elections.
Atiku’s reps clarified that the case is still in court, but this specific part of it was withdrawn because INEC complied and handed over everything they were expecting.
Senate switcheroo
The Supreme Court in Abuja instructed INEC to remove Ibrahim Shekarau and reinstate Malam Rufai Hanga as the winner of the Kano Central Senatorial District election in Kano State, Nigeria, under the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
NNPP won the senatorial election in the area; the fight was to see which of the two men would get to do the victory lap.
This started because Hanga was declared the senate candidate after the original candidate Ibrahim Shekarau withdrew from the party over “irreconcilable differences”
NNPC won the election, and they were arguing about which member of the party would be the rep.
Shekarau wanted to be reinstated so INEC took the case to the Federal High Court. The High Court decided that Hanga should be the candidate, but INEC was not satisfied with this verdict, so they took the case to the Court of Appeal.
The court of Appeal agreed with the Federal High court
But Instead of respecting the decisions of both courts, INEC went to the Supreme Court, hoping for a different outcome (which, at this point, is curious. Why is INEC carrying this case on their head if they are an independent electoral commission?)
The Supreme Court judgment finally laid the case to rest.
INEC’s impartiality claim
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) gave a contract worth N434 million to Binani Printing Press, a printing company believed to be affiliated with the APC governorship candidate in Adamawa state. The contract is to print election result sheets for the 2023 general election.
Some media reports claimed that the owner of the company is Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (popularly known as Binani), who is also a governorship candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa state.
However, the Chairman of Information and Voter Education for INEC, Festus Okoye, clarified that Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed is not listed as one of the Directors of Binani Printing Press.
The Commission selected Binani Printing Press through open competitive bidding after inspecting the company's facility and carrying out due diligence at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Okoye said that INEC decided to print all security documents for the 2023 general election in Nigeria to “help Nigerian printers” and “boost the national economy”. The Commission promised to continue to follow due process in its procurement activities.
Murder politics
The police in Bauchi State, Nigeria are looking for a member of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Abdullahi Shehu, who is wanted for alleged murder.
The police are offering a reward of N1 million for anyone who can provide information that leads to his arrest.
Shehu was elected on the platform of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) but defected to APC.
The police say he is wanted for a range of serious crimes, including criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide. The case is linked to the murder of the Bauchi APC Chairman, Hussaini Musa Gwaba, who was allegedly seen as a threat to Shehu's political ambitions.
Insecurity
Navy attacks police
In Warri, Delta State in Nigeria, some navy officers went to a police station and beat up a police sergeant. Sources disclosed that a newly commissioned NNS Delta officer in Warri had allegedly led other Naval officers to the Police station to set free a colleague earlier arrested by Police officers.
This caused a lot of tension in the area, with people shutting down their businesses and fleeing.
While they didn’t reveal the identity, the Navy said the person involved in the invasion has been arrested and an investigation into the incident has begun.
There is not much information yet on what led to this situation. The NNS Delta Base Operations Officer and the Police Public Relations Officer did not comment on the incident.
Terrorists attack Katsina and Kaduna
In Southern Kaduna, Nigeria, terrorists killed 17 people, including a policeman, and injured others in an attack.
The trouble started when a misunderstanding occurred between security operatives and a man who, according to The Guardian NG’s report, is Fulani. The Guardian NG says this disagreement led to the death of a Fulani man and a policeman at a security checkpoint.
Later in the evening, a group of people that an eyewitness said were Fulani, attacked a group of people and killed one of them (The report does not speak of any identifying Fulani characteristics).
The Kaduna Police Command is already investigating the matter and trying to apprehend those responsible for the murders.
An unspecified number of people have been reportedly killed following a clash between the members of the proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) popularly known as Shiites and security details attached to the Convoy of Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state.
The incident occurred when the Governor's convoy ran into IMN members who were protesting along the road, demanding the release of their leader's travel documents.
The Nigerian Government apprehended Shiite leader Ibrahim El-Zakzaky in 2014 and he was in an undisclosed location.
During the Zaria Massacre, where the Nigerian army attacked Shiite Muslims and killed over 1,000 people, they also attacked Zakzaky’s temple and killed 3 of his sons.
Zakzaky resurfaced in 2018 when the Kaduna Government charged him in court with 8 counts of homicide.
In 2021, the court ruled in El Zakzaky’s favour and he was released.
However, his supporters claim that the Federal Government is still holding onto his international passport
There are reports of casualties on both sides, but the exact number is unknown.
The Shiite protesters claim that security personnel opened fire on them without provocation, while the government officials claim that the protesters were heavily armed and attacked the convoy with dangerous weapons.
The police have not yet made an official statement on the incident.
Old Naira notes finally get CBN’s approval
Over a week after the Supreme court’s ruling, CBN finally confirmed that old naira notes can now be accepted as legal tender alongside the new notes. Both currencies will stay usable until December 31, 2023.
Despite the slowed-down spending from the money scarcity, Nigeria’s inflation still went up this year.
The inflation rate in Nigeria increased from 21.82% in January to 21.91% in February. This means that the cost of goods and services in Nigeria increased, which could make it difficult for people to afford basic necessities.
Other news
The Nigerian Army has announced that application for recruitment into the organisation has commenced till 14 April 2023 - Guardian NG
Wife of the embattled former deputy president of the Senate Ike Ekweremadu, Beatrice has absolved herself of any involvement in the search for an organ donor for their ailing daughter Sonia as the trial continues over allegation of trafficking a young man to London to harvest his kidney - Leadership
Justice Olufunke Sule-Amzat of a Lagos High Court sitting in Yaba, yesterday, ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney General of the Federation ( AGF) to pay N400 million as compensation to families of four Ladipo market traders, who were extra-judicially killed by police officers in 2001 - Guardian NG
43 Nigerian nurses in the United States are currently facing criminal charges over certificate forgery - Vanguard
A High Court sitting in Yobe has sentenced the state’s Auditor-General, Idris Yahaya, to five years in prison for over N19,900,000 in fraud - Channels TV