Senate asks IGP to probe Ekiti by-election violence
The Red Chamber also urged the federal government to ensure the safety of electoral officials, security personnel and election materials during elections.
IGP Mohammed Adamu
The Senate, Wednesday, urged the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to launch a full-scale investigation into last Saturday’s violence that disrupted Ekiti East Constituency 1 State Assembly by-election.
The probe, it said, was to apprehend and bring to book perpetrators of the violence.
The Red Chamber also urged the federal government to ensure the safety of electoral officials, security personnel and election materials during elections.
It also stressed the need for the quick passage of the Electoral Act amendment bill currently before it to forestall reoccurrence.
These followed a motion by Senator Biodun Olujinmi (PDP, Ekiti), who noted that Saturday’s electoral exercise, which started in a peaceful and orderly manner, turned bloody at noon when hoodlums invaded polling centres to snatch ballot boxes.
Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano), who chairs the Senate committee on INEC, assured that issues surrounding electoral violence were receiving serious attention in the amendment to the Electoral Act.