A SUSPECTED political thug on Saturday knocked down a middle-aged woman who was on her way to cast her vote as residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) elect new chairmen and councillors for the six area councils in the nation’s capital.
Vanguard reported that the incident occurred at about 10:12 a.m. at PU048, Salasi opposite Post Office, in Karu, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), when the woman was attempting to cross the road to the polling unit.
It was not immediately clear if the woman survived the accident.
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The biker did not only flout the police order restricting residents movement from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the election day, but he also had a flag of one of the major political parties flying on his motorcycle.
Voters swooped on the rider said to be under the influence of drugs and handed him over to the security agencies stationed at the polling unit.
On Friday, the FCT Police Command announced the relaxation of the restriction of movement it had ordered because of the poll. The command later restored the restriction, after it said it had gathered credible intelligence that some persons would foment trouble during the exercise if movement is allowed.
The ICIR had earlier reported that 478 candidates drawn from 14 political parties would contest chairmanship and councillorship positions across six area councils.
The six area councils in the FCT are Abaji, Kwali, Bwari, Kuje, Gwagwalada and Abuja Municipal (AMAC).
Political parties that are fielding candidates in the election include Action Democratic Party (ADP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), African Action Congress (AAC) and Labour Party (LP).
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2022. Contact him via email @ [email protected].