2023: Eyewitness Recounts How Igbo Voter Was Attacked, Harassed At Ikorodu
An eyewitness has recounted how an Igbo voter was allegedly attacked and harassed at a polling unit at Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos State.
Naija News gathered that the incident happened at the polling unit 35 behind Lagos Road, Ikorodu, as an unidentified woman was restricted from voting because she was allegedly Igbo.
An eyewitness narrated how she was verbally assaulted by a group of suspected thugs who were present at the polling unit.
The polling unit was described to be scanty as voter turnout was poor.
An unnamed source told our correspondent that the victim who got to the unit at around 12:45 pm when voting was still ongoing was attended to by the INEC officials there.
The source said “She was accredited and then given the ballot papers, immediately she got to the voting booth, an old man approached her and peeped into the booth, when she protested, the man scream and then started shouting and in seconds other thugs came to join him.
“The man who spoke in Yoruba started cursing that it won’t be better for them, are these people ooo, then he collected the woman’s ballot paper squeezed it and threw it on the floor.
“The police officer on duty came but could not do much as the thugs started threatening to beat her and saying they won’t let her vote because here because she is Igbo.
“Then some of us nearby pleaded with her and asked her to ignore them and leave in peace because they have powerful charms they can use to harm her.
“All the while, the INEC officials on duty only sat there and watched as the attack continued, then later after the woman left they picked the ballot papers and dropped them in the ballot box.
“But in less than 30 minutes, the woman returned with two men whom I believed to be her husband and a relative. They confronted the INEC officials and the policeman on duty.
“They protested that her ballot papers be given back to her to vote, so the INEC officials opened the ballot box found her squeezed papers and gave them to her to cast her vote.
“By then the leader of the thugs was absent and the other boys just stared as the woman voted and left.”
This article was originally published on Naija News
