Crime

Panic as gunmen block major road in Imo

Published

5 years ago

on

April 26, 2021

By

Feyijimi Emmanuel

Resident and road users in Orji area of Owerri, Imo State, were thrown into panic in the sound of gun shots when gunmen engaged in sporadic shooting in which many persons were said to have sustained injury.

The gunmen, suspected to be armed robbers, were said to have indiscriminately opened fire on motorists in an armed robbery operation along Owerri-Okigwe Road, Imo State.

The gunmen blocked the road, holding road users hostage for a moment until they were robbed of their belongings before they regained their freedom or continued their journeys either way of the road.

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Vote-buying remains a major concern One of the strongest warnings from Osun was the continued presence of vote-buying and voter inducement. Yiaga Africa said the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were consistent with its independent statistical projections, but cautioned that this did not remove concerns about the integrity of voters' choices amid reports of vote-buying and inducement. The concern is particularly significant ahead of 2027, when political competition will take place nationwide and involve presidential, National Assembly and state-level contests. The International Republican Institute (IRI), following a pre-election assessment mission conducted in August, identified monetised political competition, election-related violence, insecurity and declining public confidence in INEC among the structural challenges facing the 2027 elections. IRI recommended stronger investigation and prosecution of vote-buying and voter inducement, urging INEC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and security agencies to act on credible allegations. Technology improves transparency — but has limits The Osun election also demonstrated how electoral technology can improve transparency. INEC's electronic transmission of polling-unit results through the IReV platform provided observers and members of the public with a mechanism to monitor uploaded results. Yiaga Africa subsequently said the official results were consistent with its independent statistical estimates, describing the outcome as evidence that the announced results reflected the ballots counted at polling units. However, technical problems with BVAS were reported during voting. CDD said difficulties involving biometric verification and slow processing occurred in several LGAs, including Irepodun, Ejigbo, Obokun, Osogbo, Olorunda, Ola Oluwa, Ede North and Ede South. 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