By Kamsi Anayo
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday, said some of its officials on election duty were held hostage in the Brass local government area of Bayelsa state.
“The Commission is closely watching the situation in Brass LGA of Bayelsa state where our officials are held hostage,” the commission said in a statement on its official X handle.
The electoral umpire while condemning the action described it as “detrimental to credible elections” and called on security agencies including the police to swing to action and rescue the electoral officers.
“We call on the security agencies to immediately facilitate their release,” the commission said.
Earlier on Saturday, Bayelsa state governor, Duoye Diri, accused the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva, of being behind electoral violence recorded in the Nembe-Bassambiri area of the state.
Diri, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the poll, is seeking re-election for another four years in office.
“We have been raising the issue of the violent character and person of Timipre Sylva. Over the years, in every election he is involved in, you experience violence, you experience lawlessness, and even in Nembe-Bassambiri, the name and the character behind what is happening in Nembe-Bassambiri is Timipre Sylva,” Diri said.
There was massive protest at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission over allegedly concocted election results from Nembe Bassambiri.
Top Bayelsa based civil society operatives, women groups, youth groups, state and National Assembly members and other concerned citizens gathered at the office of INEC to protest alleged move by the top leadership of INEC to distort the votes in the Saturday election.
As early as 9am the angry protesters blocked the busy Swali Road location of INEC to prevail of the commission from accepting the results from Nembe Bassambiri which they said were concocted.
The Bayelsa State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Dambo Biriyai, (SAN), told journalists during the protest that election did not take place in Nembe Bassambiri.
He called on INEC REC in the state, Mr Obo Effanga, and South South Commissioner for INEC May Agbamuche-Mbu to do what is right by rejecting the alleged fake results.
He stressed that PDP members who visited their country home of Bassambiri, were prevented entry by the combined team of SWAT police and APC thugs.
He stated further that the APC only wrote outrageous results that were not products of any voting.
“If what we are here for is allowed to go on, it would be a massive rape on democracy. We are here because we were disenfranchised in Nembe Bassambiri. And no voting took place there.
“Precisely on the 10th of Nov, in order to vote for our candidate, about 60 buses left Yenagoa, to Nembe Bassambiri with escort. When we got there, the SWAT team was blocking the entrance with other APC youths.
“They said we should come down. When one our boys, Barr. Dilli, came down, they manhandled him and he escaped by the whiskers. Thereafter, They started blocking them up to the extent that they threw tear gas at us. They said we cannot come in. So most of us were scared so they had to leave. There were no votes. No election, in Nembe Bassambiri constituency 2 and 3.
“And we now found out that results starts coming it on social media. Results that were uploaded in the BVAS. And you see that these results are the kind of results that are so outrageous.
“We don’t know where they are coming from. So we are here to appeal to INEC. We are not coming to discourage INEC. We just want them to follow the rule of law, ensure that they do what is right in line with Mr President’s resolve that there should be free and fair elections in this country.
“They manipulated everything. INEC should cancel Nembe Bassambiri results because there were no elections there.”