A large group of protesters gathered at the gates of the National Assembly in Abuja on Thursday. They demanded answers from the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, regarding the failure to utilize the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BIVAS) in some voting centers during the recent governorship election in Kogi State.
The demonstrators argued that the failure to deploy BIVAS and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) compromised the election’s transparency. They believe this omission contributed to the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Usman Ododo.
The protest coincided with the Court of Appeal in Abuja reserving judgment on an appeal filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Murtala Ajaka. Ajaka is contesting the May 27 decision of the state election petition tribunal, which upheld Ododo’s election victory from November 11, 2023.
Earlier reports from PUNCH online indicated that a three-member panel of the tribunal had confirmed Ododo’s win. The SDP and Ajaka had challenged the result, asserting that the election was flawed.
Chanting solidarity songs and displaying banners with messages such as ‘Nigerian judges, uphold BVAS integrity,’ ‘Technicality cannot override BVAS,’ and ‘BVAS: Safeguard Nigeria’s democratic future,’ the protesters, under the aegis of Concerned Kogi Citizens, called on lawmakers and President Bola Tinubu to defend democratic principles.
Speaking to journalists at the assembly’s entrance, the protest leader, Isaiah Ijele, stated, “Our protest is premised on the recent BVAS fraud in the Kogi State Governorship Election of November 11, 2023, where the BVAS Technology was bypassed, leading to the emergence of an unpopular candidate in the person of Governor Usman Ododo
“The 9th National Assembly wrote its name in gold when it amended the Electoral Law to produce the 2022 Electoral Act with a renewed hope that BVAS technology will be used to curb overvoting and other electoral irregularities forever.”
Ijele further expressed the protesters’ sense of betrayal, saying, “Kogi people feel so betrayed that after all the assurances given by INEC that BVAS machines will be used to curb overvoting, some INEC officials compromised and sold Kogi State out. We are here to appeal to the lawmakers to use their good office to save democracy in Kogi State and Nigeria as a whole.”
The protesters demanded that BIVAS be mandatory for voter accreditation in all elections. They also called for Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu to be summoned by the Senate to explain the authorization given to his staff and legal team to defend the alleged malpractices.
“We further demand that INEC should declare election results from the IREV only after confirming the exact number of accredited voters on BVAS. We have lost hope in professors conducting elections,” Ijele concluded.