As a result, to invite peace and harmony in the state, Hope Uzodimma, the Governor of Imo State has named the suspect behind the recent attacks on the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state.
On Monday, Anaedoonline.ng gathered that an INEC office in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area o the state was attacked and set ablaze by unknown gunmen.
On Tuesday, Uzodinma, in a statement released by his Chief Press Secretary, U.C. Obiagu, alleged that a former INEC National Commissioner, Prof. Lai Olurode, is responsible for the attacks.
He asserted that Prof Olurode was either directly involved in the attacks on INEC offices as recently witnessed in parts of the country or deeply connected to those perpetrating the ill.
The governor, however, asked the Nigeria Police Force to arrest and interrogate Olurode over the attacks.
The statement reads: “The Governor believes that Prof. Olurode’s inciting comments over the attacks on INEC offices were a mere smokescreen to cover up what the unsuspecting members of the public may not know, but which the former INEC official knows about the attacks for which he should be properly investigated”, said
“Prof Olurode in a statement credited to him in The Guardian of Monday, 24 May said that “the court ruling that produced Governor Hope Uzodimma and agitation by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) were likely reasons for the recent attacks on the Commission’s offices.”
“The governor said the only way Prof. Olurode can absolve himself from the attacks on INEC offices is if he is properly interrogated by security agents.
“Governor Uzodimma noted that Prof. Olurode has shown that the years he spent in INEC were a complete waste if he could not come to terms with the role of the judiciary in the electoral process.
“The governor wondered how possible it is for any politician in the country to win or lose an election through the Nigerian courts without INEC’s involvement.
“Governor Uzodimma reasoned that Prof. Olurode and his likes have done great damage to the Nigerian society by playing the ostrich and feigning ignorance of how the judiciary contributes in deepening our democracy, particularly in an environment where electoral fraud and criminality are elevated to a faith.
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“The governor, therefore, urged members of the public not to look beyond their shoulders for those destroying our democracy and of late, burning INEC offices and other government property, as Prof. Olurode from every indication, fits the mold and ought to be made to face the law if found culpable”.
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