The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, has denied claims of widespread violence and voter suppression in the governorship and House of Assembly elections that took place on March 18.
In an interview with Channels TV on Saturday, Owohunwa acknowledged incidents of attacks on the electorate and electoral officers, but disputed the idea that the attacks were widespread.
He noted that the police responded quickly to most of the attacks. “Most of the instances were properly responded to by the police because we anticipated them,” he said.
When asked if the command had anticipated the violence, Owohunwa responded, “Yes, in some instances. We anticipated and then we integrated that into our general operational plan and we activated that protocol effectively in this instance. Most of those breaches, the police were able to respond promptly.”
Regarding a video showing voters overpowering a young man who allegedly snatched a ballot box, Owohunwa called the act illegal and stated that the man was rescued by the police and other security agencies. He added that the suspect was receiving medical attention and was stable.
Owohunwa also mentioned that many arrests were made and ballot papers were recovered. “In most of those cases of ballot box snatching, we recovered virtually all the ballot boxes,” he said.
