Ladi Adebutu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, has recounted how an ad hoc staff member of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was killed for refusing to rig the state’s March 18 elections.
Emmanuel Adeniran, an INEC official, was reportedly killed by hoodlums after refusing to change the results of the governorship and House of Assembly elections in the Ogijo area of Sagamu Local Government.
Adebutu, who paid a visit to the late Adeniran’s family, said he left behind his wife and three young children.
The PDP candidate addressed the Conference of Political Parties for Good Governance in Ogun State, which met in Abeokuta.
The farmer, who described the man as upright, condemned the election’s killing and violence, saying leadership should not be do or die.
He went on to say that the man was smart enough to upload the results to the INEC Results Viewing (IREV) portal, but that he paid with his life.
“One of the INEC officials in Ogijo refused to rig for APC in Ogijo because we kept saying Ogijo would get a border community development agency,” he explained. When the man, an Ogijo native, refused to rig for them, they killed him, and APC killed him! , and it’s all because of this election.
“They killed a man with three young children because he refused to rig.” I went there because you should see that widow and her three children. Fortunately, the man was wise enough, and many of those results were uploaded, but he still paid with his life.”
Adebutu urged Nigerians not to blame INEC as an institution for the irregularities in the last election, saying those who orchestrated the riggings should be brought to justice.
“God will punish the bad eggs in INEC for going against the wishes of the people,” he said.
He urged the people of Ogun to remain calm, saying that the election petition tribunal had already heard everything about the elections.
