Kogi Police warns party supporters against fomenting trouble after INEC protests

Mr. Bethrand Onuoha, the state commissioner of police for Kogi, has issued a warning to troublemakers, telling them not to cause problems for Kogi as the election had concluded smoothly.

The plea was made by the commissioner following a demonstration by suspected party supporters that took place at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters on Wednesday.

Onuoha said, “We thank God that the off-cycle governorship election in Kogi has come and gone peacefully, and we don’t expect anyone to cause any problems for us.

“As a security agency, we are imploring the politicians and INEC to follow the legal constitutional process since the issues are being handled by the Election Petition Tribunal.

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“I was taken aback when some SDP protesters filed out with various placards, trying to barricade the INEC.

“I had to address them against that and urge them to go away and use the tribunal to address whatever grievances they had so as not to create problems for our peaceful state,” he said.

Some suspected supporters of the SDP in Kogi stormed the state secretariat of INEC in the early morning of Wednesday, protesting against alleged “INEC’s tampering with election materials.”

But in order to stop an attack on the INEC headquarters, security forces arrived on time, using tear gas to disperse the demonstrators and blocking the entrance.

The demonstration began calmly at first, but some of the participants soon began tossing things at onlookers and intimidating them.

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