The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says one of its national commissioners was “stripped naked and dragged” while on election duty in Adamawa state.
A video made the rounds on Sunday purportedly showing an INEC official stripped to his underwear and beaten.
While addressing reporters later in the day, Festus Okoye, chairman, information and voter education committee, said the assaulted national commissioner is a former vice-chancellor of Usman Danfodiyo University (UDUS), Sokoto.
Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, a former VC of UDUS and Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, was appointed INEC national commissioner in 2021.
Okoye said the national commissioner was treated like a “common criminal” for doing his job.
He said the electoral body will not allow the assault to stand while he called on security agencies to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.
Okoye said: “If you see what is trending, two national commissioners were deployed to Adamawa state. One of them was brutalised, and one of them was stripped naked. That will not be allowed to stand.
“The security agencies must unmask those who engaged in that particular act. They must be arrested, investigated and prosecuted.
“A national commissioner cannot be treated like a common criminal. A former VC of Usman Danfodiyo University, a senior citizen was stripped naked and dragged.
“This commission will not allow that to stand and the chairman of the commission is viewing this with the seriousness it deserves. So, all the people who engaged in this particular act, the security agencies must unmask them.”
Commenting on the “illegal” declaration of a winner by Hudu Yinusa-Ari, the resident electoral commissioner in Adamawa, Okoye said the REC will face a panel to explain his actions.
“But for what the REC has done, we have summoned him to Abuja and he must appear. Then the commission will sit and take a decision on further collation of results and what to do with the REC,” he said.
“Ten LGAs have been collated, the commission adjourned to reconvene, only for the REC to emerge and arrogated himself the task of being a returning officer and purportedly made a declaration.
“Whatever he did was illegal, null and void. It has been rendered useless by the commission.”
It would be recalled that the REC declared Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the election.
Mele Lamido, the returning officer for the governorship election, is the INEC official empowered by law to declare a winner.
The electoral body has since suspended the collation of results and summoned the REC and returning officer to its headquarters in Abuja.
