The Incident Centre for Election Atrocities (ICEA) has called on the Inspector General of Police and the DG of the Department of State Security to immediately arrest and prosecute politicians and the INEC officials that are compromising the integrity of the electoral process by demanding payment for insurance of Permanent Voters Cards in Enugu State.
In a statement signed by Barr. Abiodun Baiyewu, head of ICEA Secretariat and Executive Director, Global Rights, the centre also stated that “The case must be met with the decisiveness it requires to serve as a deterrent to other officials of INEC who are colluding with politicians to undermine the integrity of the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria”
The statement reads “The attention of the Incident Centre for Election Atrocities (ICEA) has been drawn to the viral video of a government official demanding payment from citizens before being issued their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs). Our preliminary investigation shows that the said woman’s name is Ms. Chinwendu Nnamani from Nchatancha, Nike, Enugu State, a Ward Councilor in Emene, Enugu State”
“Ms. Nnamani was captured in a two-minute video collecting the sum of One Thousand Naira each from registered voters before issuing them their PVCs. We have also received similar reports of one Mr. Daniel who works at the Emir’s Palace in Piyanko in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State who is issuing PVCs to citizens at his house after demanding One Thousand Naira from the people who were designated to collect their PVCs at the Karshi ward in Nasarawa state. Mr Daniel who is also caught on tape claimed to have been given the PVCs by an INEC staff at a fee, which suggests that this is not an isolated incident”
“We are appalled by this atrocious act, and we consider it an affront to Nigeria’s democracy. We, therefore, demand an explanation from INEC on how the PVCs of citizens ended up in the custody of a politician who now distributes at will in return for payments”
