The 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections might have come and gone, but for many families the pain, agony and anguish that accompanied the elections will last a lifetime. Many families woke with the aim of going out to cast their ballot to elect a new set of leaders, but ended the day with the loss of loved ones to violence that erupted during the polls. According to Situation Room, a monitoring organisation linking various civic groups, 47 Nigerians have been killed since the day of the elections. And more 260 have been killed in total since the the start of the election campaigns in October last year. Babajide Okeowo chronicles those who lost their lives to the elections with additional reports from Blessing Okorite in Port Harcourt.
Daniel Usman
Daniel Usman, 19 years old, met his untimely death after he was shot dead at his polling unit in Ajetachi, Ayingba, Kogi State. He was a 300-level student of Kogi State University. As if he had an inkling of what was to come, the slain Daniel had taken to his Facebook wall on Friday, a day before the election to preach against electoral violence. “Vote and not fight! Respect yourself and stay out of trouble. God bless Nigeria,” he wrote. Ironically, he paid the supreme price.
Sunday Idoko
A Police Corporal, Sunday Idoko, was shot dead by unknown gunmen while escorting election results from Ipokia to the Ilaro collation centre in Ogun State.
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Ibisaki Amachree
Ibisaki Amachree, a mother of two, served as an ad hoc official of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the elections. She was shot dead when soldiers fired gunshots at the speedboat, conveying her with election results to the collation centre in Degema Local Government Area. INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, had condemned the killing and demanded that the culprits be punished.
Monwan Owo-Etete
Chief Monwan Owo-Etete, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was killed in Asarama, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. Owo-Etete, who was a former Andoni Local Government Council chairman, was shot dead last Saturday in his village, Asarama, few hours into the voting exercise.
He was shot dead by suspected thugs alongside his elder brother and another yet to be known person.
He was a former vice chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State, and also former Special Adviser on Political Affairs to the state Governor, Nyesom Wike, but later defected to the APC.
In Khana Local Government Area of Rivers, one person was reportedly killed in Kpean community while five others lost their lives in Eeken community.
Ignatius
An executive committee member of APC in Rivers State, identified simply as Mr. Ignatius, was allegedly shot dead in Ajakaja, in the same Andoni Local Government Area.
Monsuru Hamzat
Monsuru Hamzat was killed at Lanko compound in Ibadan South East Local Government Area. The incident occurred at Polling Unit 2 of Ibadan South East Local Government. The boy, Monsuru, who just finished his secondary education at St. Luke’s College in Molete, Ibadan, was mauled down by thugs allegedly belonging to the group called ‘One Million Boys’, who stormed Lanko compound, Agbongbon area of Kudeti were votes were being collated.
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Seidougha Taribi
Mr. Seidougha Taribi, Ward Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, was shot dead at his house in Oweikorogha.
Isah Muhammed Kambari
Isah Muhammed Kambari, the personal assistant to the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State, Sani Abubakar Danladi, was shot dead by gunmen in the early hours of Sunday. Mallam Kambari was killed on his way to join the INEC team that were taking the election results from Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba to the state capital, Jalingo on Sunday.
The list is endless.There are some whose identity is yet to be fully ascertained. In Kogi state, Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, William Aya, confirmed on Sunday that, at least, three people were killed in the state, while two people were killed in Anyigba Town and Odolu Town on election’s day, a police orderly to a Senior Special Assistant to Kogi Governor was also killed by gunmen in Okene Town on the eve of the election.
Similarly, Delta State Police Commissioner, Mr. Adeyinka Adeleke, confirmed the death of two persons in Amukpe, near Sapele, Delta State during the elections.
Adeleke said that the Delta Police Command had received the report of the killing of two young men during the exercise when gunmen stormed the polling unit about 12:55pm while voting was ongoing and shot the victims. They died on the spot.
The case was not different in Ebonyi State, as two persons were reported to have been killed after violence erupted in Amagu ward one in Ikwo Local Government Area of the state. The member representing, Ikwo/Ezza South Constituency and candidate of the PDP Lazarus Ogbe gave the names of those killed as Igwe Ukwa and Egbe Oruke.
Taraba State is not left out as four people reportedly died during violence that erupted during the elections.
Rivers State apparently recorded the highest number of fatalities, as no fewer than 10 people have been reported to have died during the elections.
However, lucky to be alive is Bayelsa State Government House Photographer, Reginald Dei, who was shot by men in military uniform alongside the PDP ward chairman at Oweikorogha, Southern Ijaw Local Government Areaof Bayelsa State. He is still hanging on to life in a hosptial where he is currently receiving trreatment.