The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that some of its officials on election duty were held hostage in the Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
This disclosure is contained in a statement posted by the commission on its official X (formerly Twitter) account on Sunday, November 12, 2023.
The Commission condemned the action and called on the Police and other security operatives to investigate the situation and facilitate the release of the officials.
What INEC is saying
The statement from INEC reads,
- “Unfolding Situation in Brass Local Government Area. The Commission is closely watching the situation in Brass LGA of Bayelsa State where our officials are held hostage.
- “This is detrimental to credible elections. We call on the security agencies to immediately facilitate their release.”
Alleged manipulation of results
Bayelsa state has always been a flashpoint for electoral violence in previous elections and the build up to this off cycle election.
There had been reports that protests had rocked Bayelsa State on Sunday over alleged manipulation of results as collation of results of the November 11, 2023 election commenced. The protesters including state commissioners and lawmakers said elections did not hold in the Nembe area of the state.
Earlier on Saturday, Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, accused the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva, of being behind electoral violence recorded in the Nembe-Bassambiri area of the state.
Diri, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the poll, is seeking re-election for another four years in office.
Sylva was first Bayelsa governor from May 2007 to April 2008 and later between May 2008 and January 2012. He was also the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources from 2019 to 2023.