The Commissioner of Police for Kogi State, Bertrand Onuoha, has issued a warning to politicians and their supporters, urging them to refrain from disrupting the peace of the state.
He emphasized the need for acceptance of the election outcome and encouraged everyone to move forward, News About Nigeria reports.
This warning was delivered in response to a protest staged by suspected party supporters at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office on Wednesday.
The Commissioner cautioned the protesters against causing disturbances in the state, advising politicians and INEC to adhere to the legal and constitutional process, as the issues are currently under consideration by the Election Petition Tribunal.
Expressing his disappointment, Mr Onuoha observed that some protesters affiliated with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) had barricaded the INEC office with various placards.
However, he took the opportunity to address the group, warning them against any form of misconduct and dispersing the crowd before any untoward incident occurred.
The initially peaceful protest took a negative turn when some demonstrators began throwing harmful objects and harassing passersby.
The protesters, who demanded the relocation of election materials to Abuja, alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Yahaya Bello had tampered with the materials.
They claimed that the materials being transported to INEC had been doctored and insisted that the electoral commission should use the original materials or face the threat of making Kogi State ungovernable.
In their appeal to the Federal Government and the National Chairman of INEC, the protesters called for immediate replacement of the allegedly doctored materials with the original ones before presentation at the tribunal.
Fortunately, security agencies intervened promptly to prevent an attack on the INEC office.
