Anambra’s government, led by Charles Soludo, has detained Nnamdi Chude, a Labour Party supporter, for reportedly comparing the current administration to former governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju’s terror-tainted era.
Mr Chude is currently being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Awka on suspicion of cybercrime, according to a source familiar with the situation on Saturday evening.
Thugs suspected of belonging to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the governor’s party and the main party in Anambra state, attacked various polling locations on Saturday when the state’s House of Assembly elections were taking place.
LP Assembly Candidates Plan To Disrupt My Administration – Soludo Alleges
According to Mr Chude, who observed the incident and documented it on Twitter, the thugs grabbed the vote boxes to disrupt the voting process out of fear that APGA candidates would lose to Labour Party opponents in the state parliamentary elections, as happened in the presidential elections.
“#Breaking: APGA thugs are on rampage in Trans-Nkisi, 3’3 & Awada snatching ballot box. LP is winning comfortably across Anambra,” Mr Chude tweeted at 4:12 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Mr Chude then compared Mr Soludo’s inability to put an end to election violence in the state to that of his distant predecessor, Mr Mbadinuju, whose reign saw an increase in obvious crimes and disdain for the rule of law.
“I can’t remember the last time I heard of ballot box snatching in Anambra. this is the height of it,@CCSoludo has taken us back to Mbadinauju’s era,” Mr Chude added.
HoA Elections: Soludo Salutes INEC For Early Commencement Of Voting In Anambra
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, security operatives quickly picked up Mr Chude from Onitsha and took him to Awka’s SCID, where he is being arrested on cybercrime allegations.
Many Nigerian officials and elites have used Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act 2015, signed by former President Goodluck Jonathan, to arrest dissenting voices and critics.
The section criminalises the use of a computer or network for any person to intentionally send a message “he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another.”
Attempts to gather views on the topic were futile because both Mr Soludo and the police did not react immediately to The Gazette’s inquiry.
Follow us on Facebook
Post Disclaimer
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author and forum participants on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Anaedo Online or official policies of the Anaedo Online.