Tension In Ihiala As Anambra Supplementary Poll Holds Tuesday

Tension was on Tuesday enveloping Ihiala LGA of Anambra State as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC conducts the supplementary governorship election in the area following its failure to conduct the election in the area last Saturday.

 GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that with 20 of the 21 Local Government Areas reporting that Prof Chukwuma Soludo of APGA is leading with 103,492 votes and his next challenger Val Ozigbo of the PDP having 51,322 votes, the fact that Ihiala has more than 148,707 registered voters has put the area as a possible decider of the election.

The PDP has expressed optimism of overtaking the momentum of APGA using the votes of Ihiala. It is a suggestion that has been poohpoohed by APGA.

However, ahead of the vote on Tuesday, there was tension in the area with hoodlums and other miscreants descending on journalists and observers who have thronged the town.

The tension in the town is exacerbated by the activities of politicians who have been calling on voters to turn out for the vote.

Journalists, observers narrowly escape death in Okija

Meantime, fear of security for the election reigned, following multiple attacks on journalists including Vanguard Photojournalist, Chijioke Nwankpa and election observers in Ihiala.

Some journalists in Anambra State alongside election observers from Abuja on Saturday narrowly escaped death in the hands of some youths at Okija, Ihiala LGA

The journalists, Afam Aminu Chimezie, Onitsha reporter for Business News Newspaper, Gloria Anaeze and Eche Nwobasi of Daily Independent Newspaper, Onitsha, and Anambra State-owned Newspaper, National Light, respectively, had travelled to Okija home town of the governorship candidate of ADC, Nze Akachukwu Nwamkpo on election coverage.

Hoodlums who were enforcing the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB’s suspended Monday weekly sit-at-home, attacked and wounded a Vanguard Photo Journalist Mr. Chijioke Nwankpa and Mr. Chris Imbufe, a reporter with Bayelsa State radio station, Peoples FM, at Ihiala, yesterday.

Mr. Nwankpa who is based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State came to Anambra State to cover last Saturday’s governorship election. He was returning to his base, Monday afternoon, when  he and his colleague, also based in Port Harcourt, were accosted and attacked by the hoodlums at a check point in Ihiala .

Narrating their ordeal, Mr. Nwankpa said that at about 2.30 to 3.00pm, he and Imbufe were driving from Aguata Local Government Area of  Anambra State, where they covered the three governorship candidates of APGA, APC and PDP, who incidentally are from the council area, back to Port Harcourt and were accosted by some gun wielding men on Police bullet proof jacket.

“They stood at a check point at an interception where they have some wood for road block with a space for people to pass through. There is a speed bump there so you when you get to such bump you slow down, so as we slowed down they came out from the bush, wearing Police bullet proof jacket, and ordered us, stop there.

“On seeing them wearing Police jacket we thought they were Police men and we quickly stopped expecting the normal Police and journalist banters but that was not what we got.

“Shortly, the other ones came out from the bush, all of them with guns and charms, some tied charms on their heads, they were about 11 of them, the one that stopped us was complaining bitterly about us, saying ‘look at you, you are enjoying not supporting Biafra, you are driving car, you are a big man. Why have you not been calling Nnamdi Kanu?’ They were saying so many things at the same time.

‘Why are you on the road? Why are you not sitting at home?’ I told them that we thought that the sit-at-home has been cancelled, they started beating us asking us why we are talking that kind of rubbish. One of them was so angry and was slapping us left, right and centre, he even cocked his gun and said we should sit on the ground.

‘’He went back and pointed his gun at us and was about to shoot before one of them told him to wait. They were trying to calm him down but he was so angry and so bitter, calling us names, that we are saboteurs, that we are this we are that. We tried very hard to explain ourselves, but he refused, it was then they went into the car to search.

“They ordered us to open the car boot and we did and they started searching the car, searched everywhere, searched my bag and that of my colleague, and there were some old accreditation cards of elections we covered in Bayelsa and other places, they brought them out and said you see it, they are INEC people, but we quickly told them we are not INEC officials but journalists.

“They told us if you are actually journalist, show us you Identity cards and we gave them and they looked at it and threw it on the ground and were still complaining that we are not supporting Biafra that when they catch us we will say we are supporting Biafra, but when we are on our own we will not be supporting, rather we will be calling them names.

‘’All the while they were beating us with sticks on the head, legs, hands and all parts of our bodies, my God it was hell for us.

‘’They, however, did not take any single thing from us including our laptops, phones, camera and other valuables. I think their concern was just to enforce sit-at-home. If they had taken anything from us we would have said they were armed rubbers, we had valuables they could take but they did not take any of our things.

“They thought my colleague was a Police officer they were trying to use that as an excuse to shoot but when they searched his bag and also saw some similar things they saw in my bag, all they saw were evidence that we are journalists, it was then they calmed down, while the one that was very bitter was still fuming against us.

He now saw a Rastafari hand band on my colleague’s hand. Rasta people  have green, red and yellow logo, that look like Biafra logo. They said, ‘we think you are Biafra, but you are not Biafra.

“However, the other one insisted that they should wait and not shoot us, it was when their leaders emerged from the bush and said they should let us go, that they started slapping us again and asked us to kneel down that we should pull our shoes and use our feet to march on the ground and use our hands to touch the ground. They told us to swear that we will not report them to anybody as we are going back.

“We even thought they were finally going to shoot us at that point because they told us to bend down and we thought that was our end but God was wonderful and just wanted to save us through the one that told them to wait and not to shoot us until after conducting their search.”

No cause for fear, we’re set for polls – Police

In spite of the attacks, the Police assured that they will ensure a hitch-free supplementary election in Ihiala  today.

Anambra State Governorship Election Public Relations Officer, DSP Nwode Nkeiruka, said: “Everything that is needed to achieve a successful electioneering process has been put in place and it’s our expectation that at the end of the exercise tomorrow (today), our efforts so far will reflect on the outcome.

“I can assure you that the Police have  almost concluded their  own side of the responsibilities in ensuring that the supplementary gubernatorial election which will take place tomorrow (today)  in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State  is a success. We started on time today in deployment and our efforts have begun to yield the envisioned fruits.

“Security and safety of the people and the electoral apparatuses is a done deal. All nooks and cranny of Ihiala have being occupied and now okay for the exercise to thrive.

“ Officers on ground are in high spirit and are well equipped with operational gadgets and orientation to subdue any challenge that may come their way in the course of exercising their duties”.

With additional reports from Vanguard

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