On Saturday, local government elections in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, faced significant disruption as some policemen allegedly used teargas at voting sites, particularly at Elekahia Primary School.
Witnesses reported that around 20 police patrol vans, occupied by heavily armed officers, arrived at the polling location and discharged teargas while voting was still in progress.
Earlier, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) had initiated the distribution of sensitive election materials to various local government areas (LGAs).
Voting began early on Saturday across multiple LGAs, with some voters able to cast their ballots while others were left waiting for the arrival of essential election materials.
Additionally, an explosion occurred hours before the elections at the office of a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Tony Okocha, the former chairman of the APC caretaker committee in Rivers.
Tensions have escalated in the state due to an ongoing power struggle between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
On September 30, a Federal High Court in Abuja issued a ruling preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the 2023 voter register to RSIEC. The court also barred the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Services from providing security for the elections. Following this, on October 2, INEC confirmed it had adhered to the court’s ruling by not releasing the voter register.
Protests erupted on October 3 at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Port Harcourt, where a crowd gathered against the scheduled local government elections. Despite this, Governor Fubara affirmed his intention to proceed with the elections.
On the preceding Friday, Fubara visited the RSIEC office amid concerns that police actions could derail the electoral process. Police had established barricades around the facility where election materials were held.
Fubara criticized the police presence at the RSIEC, claiming it was unwarranted and alleging that the Inspector-General of Police was acting under Wike’s orders to obstruct the elections. In response, the Nigeria Police Force maintained that their operations in Rivers were in line with the Federal High Court’s ruling.
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