2019 NIGERIAN ELECTION - A BLOODY AND THE WORST ELECTION IN HUMAN HISTORY

By Ogechukwu Ubah (Abia Writers)
Edited by Chidi Aloysius Nwosu
The presidential/National Assembly election on 23rd February 2019 and Governorship/ State house of Assembly elections held on 9th March 2019 in Nigeria was all bloody. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous peoples of Biafra (IPOB), described both as elections of blood, sorrow and Tears.

On the National Election of 23/2/19, about Fifteen people lost their lives in Rivers state alone including an ad hoc staff of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC ) by name Ibisaki Amachree who was shot dead by Nigerian Army because she refused to rig the election. People were also killed in other parts of the country like Kogi, Delta, Bayelsa, Nasarawa, Zamfara and Kano states. Not only that, Igbo Biafrans in Lagos were humiliated and prevented from voting merely because they showed interest in the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Lagos is an APC (All Progressive Congress) state so anybody or group of people that have interest in PDP were intimidated. They did the same thing in 2015 when Oba Akiolu threatened to push the Igbo's into the Lagoon if they fail to vote for Ambode of APC in Lagos state. What is the essence of shouting one Nigeria when one is not at liberty to exercise one's franchise in a country you call one's own?

On 9th of March 2019, the day of Governorship/State house of Assembly election. The story was still the same; a voter was shot dead at St Paul's Catholic Church Obigbo Rivera State. At Adajue Mbube community, a youth was also strangled to death because of election matters. Former Chairperson of Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers state and SA to Governor Nyson Wike, Hon. Mrs Emilia Note was killed on the eve of the local election (8/3/19). An APC ballot box snatcher was burnt to death in Akwa Ibom state, a man and his son were killed by a stray bullet. Above all, an international observer was shot dead by Nigerian police attached to APC governorship aspirant in Enugu state, and so on.

Nigerian elections apart from being bloody, have cases of vote buying and rigging. Okezie Ikpeazu of PDP in Abia state promised to pay 25,000 Naira each to NYSC INEC's ad hoc staff to help him rig the election in his favour. At Ikwuano Umuahia, the same Okezie Ikpeazu collaborated with INEC officials to collect uncollected voters cards to rig the election for him. At Ugwunabo polling unit, ward 7b, group 4 - 10, that recorded a high number of votes, All Progressive Grand Alliance, (APGA) was winning there, but National Union of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW) rigged it for PDP to favour their Master, Okezie Ikpeazu.

At BTC, Faulks Road, Aba, Mr Ikonne of APC for state house of Assembly bought votes there, ward 3, polling units 015 and 016 at Ekwulumiri Hall, PDP bought votes there, PDP thugs intimidated people at Akoli Imenyi, Uzuokoli where APGA did very well. Okezie Ikpeazu even used Bakassi Boys (Abia State Vigilante Group) to rig the election. Okezie Ikpeazu used whatever he could lay his hands on to make sure that he rigged himself into power again and he succeeded.