Nation
Polls: Thugs snatch ballot boxes in Ogun
Idowu Olakunle, Abeokuta
Thugs, on Saturday, snatched ballot boxes at Ayegbami polling booth, Ward 3, Unit 5, in Iperu-Remo, Ogun State, after shooting sporadically.
The thugs stormed the polling booth, fired gun shots to scare voters away before snatching the ballot boxes from the polling booth not far from where Governor Dapo Abiodun voted.
A resident who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said that the thugs came in a car and snatched the two ballot boxes but were able to make away with one of the boxes.
He said that such experience occurred during the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly Elections where the same set of political thugs snatched ballot boxes from the polling units.
The eyewitness said that the Assistant Polling Officer (APO), Babatunde Alalade was beaten up by the electorates over the development, accusing him of giving the hoodlums opportunity to snatch the ballot box.
He alleged that a Chieftain of the All Progressive Party (APC) was the mastermind of the ballot box snatching whom he said took the stolen ballot box to his house and changed it to another one with fake votes
The source said that immediately they snatched one of the ballot boxes, the voters had to protect the other ballot box, from being whisked away before security men intervened.
“We observed that they took one of the ballot boxes, one APC chieftain came in his car with thugs and took the ballot box away,” he said.
“That is why we had to protect the remaining ballot box because the chieftain took the box to his house and changed it to another one filled it with votes and then returned it to the polling unit.”
