The 2023 elections will get underway on Saturday across Nigeria amid escalating politics-related violence threatening the free and fair conduct of the polls.
Incidents of violence have been recorded in many parts of the country, raising fears that the electoral process could be marred in a way that voters and the system would suffer.
Within less than one week to the polls, scores of people have been reported killed in election-related violent attacks in many states including Kano, Ebonyi, Nasarawa and Enugu.
At least six corpses were recovered by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence (NSDC) in Kano when members of the New Nigeria Peoples Party were attacked by some thugs suspected to belong to the All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party.
Sources said the NNPP loyalists were on their way to receive the party’s presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso who had scheduled the grand finale of his campaign for Kano on Friday.
They were attacked at Naibawa-Zaria Road leaving at least six persons dead and several vehicles were burnt down.
The development led to the suspension of camping in the state.
The scenario in Enugu was similarly gory when the convoy of Oyibo Chukwu, the candidate of the Labour Party for Enugu East Senatorial District, was attacked by gunmen at Amechi, Awkunanaw Local Government Area of Enugu State while returning from a campaign rally.
The vehicle in which the politician was travelling was identified by the assailants and he was shot dead alongside five of his supporters.
The hoodlums later set the vehicle ablaze alongside the corpses. The incident happened on Wednesday.
Oforchukwu Egbo, the House of Representatives candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Enugu North/South Federal Constituency was a bit lucky when he escaped being killed by the same hoodlums suspected to have murdered the Labour Party Senatorial candidate Chukwu.
Egbo’s convoy was also attacked by the assailants while the politician escaped being killed, the driver of one of his buses was not lucky as he was shot dead by the gunmen and his body was set ablaze alongside the mini-bus.
Also in Ebonyi, the convoy of the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance was attacked claiming the lives of his personal driver as well as the police inspector who was the security attache.
Kenneth Eze, Executive Director, Speak Out Africa Initiative, raised the alarm over the outbreak of violence in some states including Lagos, Kano, Kaduna Kogi, Abiaand Ebonyi described as high and medium risk where voter suppression, vote trading, political opponents attack and manipulation of electoral process could be noticed.
