INEC staff kidnapped, released in Rivers

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said on Saturday that one of its staffers kidnapped during the legislative elections in Etche had been released.

May Agbamuche-Mbu, the South-South National Electoral Commissioner in charge of Edo, Bayelsa and Rivers, made this known while speaking to journalists in Etche after monitoring the election.

She said the staffer was attacked and kidnapped while on the way to supply election materials to some polling centres.

Mrs. Agbamuche-Mbu added that some members of staff attacked and injured during the election had been taken to the hospital.

She decried the increasing incidence of election violence in Rivers.

“Thankfully they have been released; some were injured and we will take care of them, and it has happened again and again (elections) yet Rivers state is boiling.

“We have decided that where elections are peaceful, we will collate results there; where there is violence, we will collate results at the INEC headquarter here in Etche,” she said.

Mrs. Agbamuche-Mbu stated that INEC has always spoken of the need to take election violence seriously.

“And we are thankful that some of the thugs have been arrested and actually what we really want are those leaders who are behind them.

“These young men are sent out to disrupt the election and we must get those who are behind them,” the commissioner said.

She added that the election would be concluded because INEC had collated a significant percentage of the results ready.

Meanwhile, the police have said that some arrests have been made by soldiers.

The spokesperson of the police in the state, Nnamdi Omoni, said, “Hopefully, they are going to hand them over to the police.”
(NAN)