A group known as the National Youth Council of Ogoni People, NYCOP, has alleged that 15 person lost their lives during the last governorship and House of Assembly elections in Ogoni land but, the incident was not reported.
President of the group, Barinuazor Emmanuel, made the allegation during a protest at INEC office in Port Harcoury few days ago.
He also alleged that INEC and some political parties denied them their will to vote, adding that what transpired on election day was a rape on democracy.
“What happened to us 18th March, 2023, was a rape on our democracy. INEC and some political parties denied us our will to vote. We voted in some places, but our votes did not count. Where we did not vote, they also manufactured votes for them,” he said.
“Our grandmothers, traders, youths, we, suffered to register for Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC), suffered to also collect our PVCs. We paid transport from our respective homes to go to our polling units to vote. At the end, what we saw was death.“
“Over 15 youths died in this election (governorship and House of Assembly). But the casualties were not reported in the media. We saw political thugs connived with INEC and hijacked voting materials, denying us our votes. Yet, we saw votes declared for some people,” he added.
