No INEC Staff Lost Hand – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) in Rivers State says none of its staff lost his or her hand during last Saturday’s supplementary election for  State and National Assembly in Etche and Omuma as reported by some sections of the media.
The Public Relations Officer of the commission, Anthonia Nwobi who stated this in a press statement last Saturday, said the supplementary elections took off on time in 80 per cent of all the units slated for the election except in some units where pockets of violence, physical attacks, snatching of ballot boxes and materials were recorded.
Nwobi noted that 745 staff of the commission deployed from, Bayelsa, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Rivers State returned safely.
She said an abducted staff was later released and that no staff lost his or her hands to thugs as reported by some media.
Meanwhile INEC  said on Saturday that one of its staffers kidnapped during the legislative elections in Etche had been released.
The South South National Electoral Commissioner in charge of Edo, Bayelsa and Rivers, Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, made this known while speaking to newsmen in Etche after monitoring the election.
She said the staffer was attacked and kidnapped while on the way to supply election materials to some polling centres.
Agbamuche-Mbu added that some members of staff attacked and injured during the election had been taken to the hospital.
She decried the increasing incidence of election violence in Rivers.
“We have decided that where elections are peaceful, we will collate results there; where there is violence, we will collate results at the INEC headquarter here in Etche,” she said.
Agbamuche-Mbu stated that INEC has always spoken of the need to take election violence seriously.
“And we are thankful that some of the thugs have been arrested and actually what we really want are those leaders who are behind them.
“These young men are sent out to disrupt the election and we must get those who are behind them,” the commissioner said.