Tension erupted in late hours of Friday, October 31 at Nasko, in Magama Local Government Area of Niger State, North-Central Nigeria after angry residents reportedly set ablaze sensitive election materials meant for Saturday’s local council polls.
Sources said that electoral officials delivered ballot papers to the area but allegedly failed to include official result sheets. This development triggered outrage among residents, who accused the officials of attempting to rig the election.
The protest soon turned chaotic, leading to the burning of the election materials as it was gathered that the destruction occurred before voting could commence, throwing the area into confusion.
The extent of the loss is yet to be confirmed, though several sensitive documents were reportedly destroyed.
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Confirming the development, the Niger State Command police spokesperson, Superintendent Wasi’u Abiodun, said security agencies have since been deployed to the scene to restore calm, while the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission, NSIEC is expected to make an official statement on the incident.
According to him, some arrests have been made, but he cannot confirm the exact numbers due to the telephone network in the area, which is relatively bad.
He added that the police are waiting for a full briefing before they can confirm the actual number of arrests.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
