Eyewitnesses alleged that the men, who claimed to be operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police, stormed the premises late Friday and forcefully took away the van containing ballot papers and funds meant for disbursement to party agents at polling units.
Tension has gripped Kaduna area after unidentified officials allegedly stormed a hotel where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ad-hoc staff kept sensitive election materials ahead of today’s polls, seizing both the materials and the official INEC van before driving them to an undisclosed location.
Eyewitnesses alleged that the men, who claimed to be operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police, stormed the premises late Friday and forcefully took away the van containing ballot papers and funds meant for disbursement to party agents at polling units.
A woman who raised the alarm in a video obtained by SaharaReporters on Saturday noted that the attackers might have been sponsored by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State.
“They forcefully towed the vehicle, saying it contained valuables and that they had information ballot papers were kept there,” she said.
“Now they’ve taken the vehicle to an unknown location. Only God knows what they’ve gone to do with the materials inside, including the funds for our agents. This is the height of desperation. They want to stop at nothing to rig this election.”
According to her, the suspicious officials later returned the van under unclear circumstances, raising fears that the vehicle or the ballot materials might have been tampered with.
“They brought back the vehicle, but who knows what they have planted in it? Maybe to accuse us of manipulation, maybe to compromise the materials. Nobody knows. This is the height of their desperation,” she added, visibly agitated.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had disclosed that arrangements were concluded for the conduct of Saturday’s bye-elections in 16 constituencies across 12 states.
The commission also outlined plans for the resumption of nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and the publication of candidates’ particulars for the 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council election.
This was part of deliberations at the Commission’s weekly meeting on Thursday, as shared by the National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun.
He confirmed that the bye-elections, caused by the resignation or death of serving lawmakers, would take place in two senatorial districts in Anambra and Edo States; five federal constituencies in Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Ogun, and Oyo States; and nine state constituencies spread across Adamawa, Anambra, Kaduna (2), Kano, Kogi, Niger, Taraba, and Zamfara States.
He said that court-ordered rerun elections in Enugu South 1 State Constituency of Enugu State and Ghari/Tsanyawa State Constituency of Kano State would also hold on the same day.
Furthermore, Olumekun disclosed that all non-sensitive materials had been delivered to the states, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) had been configured, and ad-hoc staff recruitment and training, as well as logistics and security arrangements, were complete.
He added that the final batch of sensitive election materials was delivered later on Thursday.
Olumekun reminded political parties and candidates that campaigns must end by midnight on Thursday, warning all stakeholders, including voters, party agents, observers, and the media, to comply strictly with electoral laws, guidelines, and regulations to ensure smooth polls.
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