Lagos Elections: Police commissioner debunks widespread violence

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, refuted claims of widespread violence and voter suppression during the governorship and House of Assembly elections held on March 18.

During an interview with Channels TV on Saturday, Owohunwa acknowledged some attacks on the electorate and electoral officers at specific polling units.

He stated that they were not widespread violence during the elections as claimed and that the police responded promptly to most of them.

“It is true that we’ve recorded instances of violence in some areas within the state. The incidents were not as widespread as to affect the general dynamics of the process.

“Most of the instances were properly responded to by the police because we anticipated them,” he said.

Speaking on anticipating violence in some regions, he added, “Yes, in some instances. We anticipated and then we integrated that into our general operational plan and we activated that protocol effectively in this instance. Most of those breaches, the police were able to respond promptly.”

The Police Commissioner also confirmed that a young man who allegedly snatched a ballot box was rescued by the police and other security agencies and was receiving medical attention.

Owohunwa revealed that many arrests were made and that almost all the ballot boxes were recovered in cases of ballot box snatching.