BREAKING: UNKNOWN GUNMEN ABDUCT INEC PERSONNEL DURING IMO ASSEMBLY BYE-ELECTION

REPORTER:CHINAZO ILECHUKWU

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says a good number of its staff and adhoc personnel deployed to Ngor Okpala for the State House of Assembly bye-election have been abducted by yet to be identified gunmen.

The resident electoral commissioner in the state, Professor Francis Ezeonu, disclosed this while briefing journalists in his office in Owerri.

He said he had received distress calls from some of its staff, who were being held hostages and forced to thumbprint the bimodal verification and accreditation machine, (BIVAS).

Professor Ezeonu called on security agencies in the state to swing into action to ensure that the abducted adhoc staff, most of whom are national youths service corps members, regained their freedom.

He said the commission also received reports of ballot box snatching at some polling units and gave an assurance that INEC would not accept results that do not tally with number of accredited voters or that were manufactured from areas where voting did not take place.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner used the forum to call on security agencies to step up their operations to ensure hitch-free collation of results.