Massive rigging, violence mar elections nationwide

The fears and cynicism of Nigerians were yesterday
confirmed as the gubernatorial and state assemblies elections were
conducted in a do-or-die manner with massive rigging and extensive
violence recorded across the country.

In a
war-like manner, the elections witnessed commando-like operations in
ballot snatching , hijacking of election materials, shooting and
macheting of citizens and election workers, despite the heavy presence
of military and other security officials in many states.

Bombs,
sophisticated assault weapons and other dangerous arms were employed,
with reports indicating that some specially trained militia men were
recruited and deployed allegedly in conjunction with some compromised
security agents.

Reports
from many states showed that the political parties and their hired
thugs invaded each others’ strongholds with as many as fifty reportedly
dead at the close of voting, while unconfirmed numbers were injured,
including some policemen in Port Harcourt, River State capital.

Sunday
Tribune findings from across the federation revealed that many voters
were disenfranchised since they could not find their names on the ballot