Murtala Muhammed Way, the city’s main artery leading to the INEC headquarters, is now under the control of soldiers and police officers.
By Ademu Idakwo
Following the assassination attempt on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Commissioner Dr. Hale Gabriel Longpet, a heavy security presence has descended upon Lokoja, Kogi State’s capital.
Men of the Nigerian Army and the Police personnel were seen to have taken over Murtala Muhammed Way, which is the major road in the colonial city that leads to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC Head Quarters in the state.
The Soldiers in tense languages were given instructions to vehicles and keke riders who were not aware of the restriction to follow the bye-pass roads.
Commuters are having difficulty moving through the town as vehicles have now been diverted to bypass through the back roads, which were far away from town to their destinations.
The residents are now living in fear of possible further restriction of movements in the town due to the unfortunate incident if the security situation in the state refuses to improve.
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Dr Longpet narrowly escaped death in the early hours of Friday as a result of a massive assault on his resident by yet-to-identified gunmen who came with a Siena Vehicle armed to the teeth.
The armed assailants who targeted the residence of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in a very desperate attempt to put the embattled REC out of circulation held the resident commissioner and his family spellbound as the noise of the guns rented the air for almost an hour unchallenged.
This is coming a few days after the mob besieged the state office of INEC demanding the stoppages of inspection of the electoral materials as ordered by the election petition tribunal, indicating a disturbing trend of the heightened security situation in the state.
It took the intervention of combined security personnel who responded to a distress call to safeguard the REC’s premises.
The REC according to unconfirmed security sources escaped to safety within the premises while the gunfire lasted.
The authorities of INEC are calling for a thorough investigation, as well as the urgent need to enhance security measures to protect both its personnel and assets in Kogi State.
Golden Page Magazine Checks revealed that INEC authorities are seriously grappling with the imperative task of ensuring the integrity of electoral processes in the off-season polls amidst growing concerns over electoral malpractices in the country.
Some officials of the commission in Abuja who do not want their names to be mentioned are pointing accusing fingers at political actors in kogi state who have shifted the battle for the sole of the state to the Election Petitions Tribunal to be after the life of the resident commissioner for refusing to do their biddings.
No causality was recorded in the incident, but the exchange of gunfire inflicted significant damage to many properties, which pointed to the gravity of the incident.
