Idowu Owohunwa, the commissioner of police for Lagos State, has refuted claims of widespread violence and voter suppression during the March 18 governorship and assembly elections.
In an interview with Channels TV on Saturday, the police chief made this disclosure.
He confirmed that there had been attacks on voters and election officials, which had been noted at some polling places in the state, but he disputed that they had been widespread.
He observed that most attacks received a prompt police response, as was to be expected.
“It is true that we’ve recorded instances of violence in some areas within the state. The incidents were not as widespread as to affect the general dynamics of the process.
“Most of the instances were properly responded to by the police because we anticipated them,” he said.
When asked if the command had anticipated the violence, he said, “Yes, in some instances.
“We anticipated and then we integrated that into our general operational plan and we activated that protocol effectively in this instance. Most of those breaches, the police were able to respond promptly.”
The police chief, while responding to a video of voters said to be overpowering a young man alleged to have snatched a ballot box disclosed it as illegal.
He said the man was rescued by the police and other security agencies, adding that the suspected electoral offender was receiving medical attention.
“He’s stable; he’s not dead,” Owohunwa said
Owohunwa futher noted that a lot of arrest were made and ballot papers were recovered.
“In most of those cases of ballot box snatching, we recovered virtually all the ballot boxes,” he said.