Adamawa Guber Polls: Police Arrest Ex-Lawmaker With Ballot Boxes

The Police in Adamawa state have arrested a former PDP House of Representatives member, Hon. Martins Babale, for being in possession of six empty ballot boxes at Ganye 2 ward in Ganye Local Government Area. Babale was arrested following a tip-off by election monitors who allegedly reported that six empty ballot boxes were seen being carried into the home of the former PDP House of Representatives member representing Fufore/Ganye Constituency, ostensibly for ballot stuffing.  

  A Police source confirmed Hon. Martins Babale was arrested after they discovered the six ballot boxes meant for election at Ganye 2 ward in Ganye LGA boxes in country home of the legislator.  

  Meanwhile, some plots by one of the political parties contesting the Adamawa governorship elections to rig in connivance with INEC officials and security agencies have begun to unfold as CPC party agents in some wards are being chased out from performing their accreditation in some polling units while voting materials were yet to reach many polling units considered CPC strongholds as at 11am yesterday.        

  Monitoring teams from CPC and some election observers spoken to disclosed that such wards like Kofar Jauro Baggare-ward 002, Malkohi Primary school-ward 009, Kofar Jauro Runde kila-ward 007 and Wuro Dadi primary school-ward 0015 all in Yola South Local Government area had did not receive ballot boxes as at 11 am.         

  At Fangeri polling unit and Lantari wards also in Yola South LGA, security agents including the Police reportedly chased out all agents (CPC, PDP, ANPP, ACN, ADC) from the polling units as voters commenced voting raising suspicion of plots to rig in favour of a particular party.         

  At Yola North LGA, Jambutu ward with three polling units, election observers disclosed that security agents and other persons from a political party, intimidated CPC agents into removing their accreditation tags and wearing PDP tags with some of them promised heavy incentives if they cooperate.         

  At Fufore LGA, Paria ward for instance, hundreds of CPC voter's turned up for accreditation only to see security agents turning back agents of CPC. At Yadim ward also in Fufore, observers reported there was deliberate absence of security agents, harassments of voters while PDP agents were allegedly seen publicly distributing money to voters to influence the choice of candidate.                   

  At Mayo/Farang ward 1 and Sebore Ahmadu ward 1 in Mayo Belwa LGA, observers witnessed some persons said to be PDP agents calling out returning officers for the polling units into a house under police protection where they were allegedly given substantial amount of money to influence the outcome of the votes cast.                       

  At Michika, the home town of the CPC candidate, General Buba Marwa, election observers reported that in Thukudou/Sukufu/Zar wards comprising 14 polling units, only 200 ballot boxes were distributed by INEC instead of 1, 000 ballot boxes earmarked for the polling units.         

  At Foru ward also in Michika comprising four polling units, INEC was said to have earmarked eight ballot boxes for the election but only one ballot box was reportedly brought to one of the polling unit by INEC while at Yola South LGA, Kofar Baba ward-unit 009, security agencies allegedly working in tandem with PDP agents, were said to have harassed and beaten up election observers whom they suspect are dishing out reports not favourable to PDP.         

  At Guyuk LGA, Dangir/Chikala ward, CPC agents rejected plans to conduct a secret ballot instead of open secret ballot approved by INEC. In Madagali ward, in Madagali LGA, suspected PDP supporters snatched a ballot box with CPC voters said to have casted the most votes. At Zumo, in Hong LGA, with about 2500 votes, CPC agents are being singled out and arrested by security agents.