Chinelo Obogo
Coalition Against Electoral Violence, an organisation made up of civil society groups, has demanded the prosecution of electoral offenders in the 2015 Bayelsa governorship election.
The convener, Olufemi Lawson, said in a press statement that, after working as election observers in the Bayelsa election, they published an in- depth investigative report entitled: “Election Violence in the 2015/2016 Bayelsa Governorship Election”, which gives an insight into the level of violence and the loss suffered by victims.
Lawson said after the report was submitted to relevant authorities, regrettably, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Federal Government and other relevant security agencies, as well as, the international community. But they never acted on the report which detailed the extreme right violations witnessed during the election.
He said the violence led to the death of many poor people and the destruction of lots of property, but that the coalition took it upon itself to embark on a post-election assessment of the situation, which eventually led to the production of the detailed report.
According to him, the report captured audio and visual recordings and testimonies of the victims of the violence that marred the conduct of election in Southern Ijaw Local Government and some other parts of the state, during the election.