PDP to Drag INEC, Police to Court over Kogi, Bayelsa Elections

*Condemns killing of women leader

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

A new dimension in election litigations will soon commence as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said it will file legal actions in court against officials of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and police for their various roles in the just concluded governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States.

According to it, the party said it would also file legitimate actions against identified INEC and security officials who aided the APC in the violent rigging of the election.

Specifically, PDP said: “Our party has been made aware of the roles played by the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, as well as the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mohammed Adamu, in the governorship elections.”

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party also yesterday stated that the alleged violent rigging of the Kogi and Bayelsa State governorship elections by the All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot stand.

The NWC in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, maintained that there was no way the PDP would fold its hands and watch the mandates clearly given to its candidates, Musa Wada in Kogi state and Senator Douye Diri in Bayelsa State, “left in the hands of repressive usurpers, manipulators and murderers.

“Indeed, the country is still in shock over the brazen show of violence, where security forces coordinated the invasion of polling units, shooting and killing of voters and carting away ballot boxes to government facilities where results were altered and fictitious figures given to INEC to declare the APC candidates winners.

“Nigerians watched with horror as APC thugs and security forces traumatised and held voters hostage, murdered our compatriots, injured and maimed many in violent attacks that involved the deployment of police helicopters.”

According to the statement, PDP urged the INEC chairmanship and the security officials to do some introspections on the ‘anguish they have caused the people with the rigging of the elections,’ promising that NWC will never hesitate to expose such ignoble roles at the appropriate time.

The party said the irreversible fact remains that though evil may appear to thrive for a while, truth and justice will always prevail in the end.

It said: “The APC and its candidates must bear in mind that what they could not get through the ballot box, they cannot get it by violence, manipulation and killing.”

The PDP said it remained undeterred in its determination to use all legitimate means available and allowed within the democratic practice to confront the ‘usurpers’ and retrieved its mandate in Kogi and Bayelsa States.

The NWC, therefore, urged all members of the PDP as well as all Nigerians of good faith to remain strong, united and undeterred as the NWC commences lawful actions in the pursuit of the ‘people’s mandates’.

“Our party once again mourns our compatriots killed by the APC in this election, including our Woman Leader in Kogi State, Acheju Abuh, who was burnt to death by APC thugs at her home on Monday,” it stated

While invoking the wrath of God on the perpetrators of the gruesome killings, the party called on the police to immediately track down and bring their killers to book.

PDP said: “Indeed, their death will never be in vain as the mandates for which they were killed will surely be recovered.”