Voters at a polling unit in Gwagwalada, Abuja, on Saturday chased away the chairperson of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), AbdulMalik Usman, during the ongoing Area Council elections.
The incident occurred at Pilot Science Primary School, Gwagwalada, which serves as a polling and collation centre for the elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Eyewitnesses said angry voters confronted Mr Usman over suspicions that he intended to interfere with the voting process. Bystanders claimed it was the second time he had been forced to leave the centre.
Police officers swiftly escorted the APC official to his vehicle as some voters allegedly poured sand on him and pelted his car with stones while he was driven away.
“People suspected he came to manipulate the voting process, and that was why he was chased out,” an eyewitness, Danladi Naroka, said.
Calm was later restored at the centre, and vote counting commenced shortly after.
INEC is conducting the FCT Area Council elections in 2,822 polling units across 62 wards in the six area councils — Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali. Two incumbent chairpersons, both from the APC in Abaji and Abuja Municipal Area Council, are seeking re-election.
