Nigeria: Bloody, Bloody Elections With Over 46 Killed

Bloodshed and tear shed flowed copiously Saturday April 14, as over 46 people were killed in violent political clashes during the state assembly and governorship polls in Nigeria. Police stations and offices of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were razed. The casualties were spread in Rivers, Ondo, Lagos, Ogun, Delta, Osun, Kogi, Kwara, Anambra and Edo states. The Punch newspaper of Sunday, April 15, 2007, reported that 46 people were killed and gave detailed eye-witness accounts in all the 36 states.

The desperation of the ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to retain power was seen as the party employed thugs to unleash terror at several places during the elections. Many of the political thugs were caught with minibuses loaded with machetes, clubs, axes, and guns on their way to polling stations. And ballots boxes already stuffed with thumb-printed voters' cards were also confisticated by law enforcement officers at different locations in the country.

Most of the arrested suspects caught with fake results sheets, stolen ballot boxes, and shepherding under-age voters were hirelings of the PDP.

The President of the Nigerian senate, Dr. Ken Nnamani has already dismissed the elections in his home state Enugu.

" The exercise was an abysmal failure. If they call a result in Enugu, it will be based on manipulation. I'm concerned about the legitimacy of the emerging government," Dr. Nnamani said.

"This is the height of corruption. The situation is very bad. No election at all in Akoko Edo, no election in Etsako Central. There was snatching of ballot boxes in Etsako West, where voting took place. They have been going from place to place snatching ballot boxes. They do it in company with the army and police. But on the other hand, we saw a happy people coming out to vote. But all that has come to naught," said Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, the governorship candidate of the Action Congress (AC) in Edo State and called for the cancellation of elections in the state.

INEC has cancelled the elections in some states and declared April 28, 2007, for new elections in the affected states.

The summary of the reports from the 36 states of the federation showed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed in the logistics and conduct of the elections, and the Federal Government failed to provide adequate security. The police officers killed by the daredevil militants in the oil city of Port Harcourt would have been alive if the government provided the required maximum security in the Niger Delta.