Gunmen attack polling units, burn some ballot papers in Lagos

Some unknown gunmen have attacked and disrupted the presidential and National Assembly election at some cluster units in Mafoluku, Oshodi area of Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria gathered that the gunmen, numbering more than six, came on motorcycles to the area and started shooting to scare away the voters.

NAN learnt that the gunmen attacked Owoseni, Ijaye, Branco, Owolabi, Fadeyi streets amongst others that formed the cluster units, collected some of the ballot boxes containing papers already thumb printed and set them on fire.

“The unknown gunmen came in around 12 noon and started shooting. They collected some of the thumb printed ballot papers and set them on fire.

“The hoodlums ran away when armed police and soldiers arrived the place,” Jonah Obisanya, an electorate said.

The Commissioner of police in Lagos State, CP Idowu Owohunwa, who visited the area at about 1.07 p.m. evacuated 25 Ad-hoc INEC officials from the units attacked and took them to the police command headquarters.

The officials were later taken to Oshodi Local Government Council with electoral materials.

Mr Owohunwa said that some suspects have been arrested in different parts of the state for electoral offences.

He, however, did not mentioned the number of arrests made, stressing that a comprehensive number of people arrested will be made known to the public.

The police boss said that so far, the exercise has been peaceful in most parts of the State in spite of pockets of violence in some areas.

He said that some of the violence observed in some areas were expected, stressing that special squads were put in place to immediately check them.

The police boss said no one died in the crisis so far, pointing out that security have been beefed up in the areas concerned.

NAN reports that some of the ad-hoc staff that sustained injuries were treated by the police medical unit at the state Command.