From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse
The Jigawa Birnin Kudu local government elections was yesterday marred by irregularities as irate youths held officials of the State Independent Electoral Commission (JSIEC) hostage.
The angry youths numbering in their hundreds were said to have sensed attempt by the JISIEC officials at the Chiyako polling ward of attempt to subvert the perceived winner who is the PDP candidate and the choice of the people.
Trouble started when the returning officer of the ward was suddenly declared missing despite the presence of all the presiding officers that collated 11 elections conducted within the wards of the area.
The miraculous disappearance of the electoral officer prompted the people to force all the other electoral officers together with the agents of various political parties into a classroom and locked them with padlocks.
Among those forcefully detained include about twenty police officers alongside dozens of vigilante members whom were cordoned off and confined to a space by hundreds of stick carrying youths.
The electorates protested all through the night that they would not leave the venue until the actual winner of the election was announced.
However, at about 12 noon the state chairman of the JSIEC Alhaji Adamu Ibrahim sent in an electoral officer in company of a large retinue of police officers to the polling unit who later announced the PDP candidate, Inusa Abdullahi who polled 3,951 after defeating Yusuf Umar who polled 680 votes respectively.
The declaration of the winner was greeted with huge celebrations that erupted and resided throughout the community.
Earlier, the state governor Alhaji Muhammed Badaru Abubakar has issued a statement which was signed by his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Mr Habibi Kila calling on the electoral umpire to declare the candidate that was certified to have won the election.
The governor tasked the citizens to be law abiding while assuring that whoever that has won the election would be declared the winner.
The PDP state chairman Alhaji Babandi Ibrahim commended the Youths for their doggedness in defending the wish if the people.
He said the effort would be replicated in subsequent elections assuring that they will never again allow anyone to ‘steal’ their votes.