2023 Elections: List of States Where Polls May Be Cancelled, Repeated, Why

• If nothing is done to curb or eradicate attacks on INEC's offices and police stations, the 2023 elections may be cancelled in some Nigerian states
• Among these states are Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Osun, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, and Ebonyi, including a few others in the north and southwest
• INEC on its part had earlier stated that the security situation may affect its conduct of the forthcoming elections

With the 2023 general elections just days away, it is only proper to look into the security situation Nigeria is facing and how it may impact the conduct of the polls by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In December 2022, INEC released a report stating that it recorded not less than 50 incidents of attacks on its offices in two years (2019 and 2022).

It goes beyond argument that most of the states are in the southeast region where the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) holds sway; however, other states like those in the north and southwest also have their hands in the menace which has become a phenomenon to be studied.

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Based on this and current data, Legit.ng takes a close look at states in Nigeria where attacks on the commission's offices and police stations are prominent.

Below is the list of states concerned:

1. Anambra
2. Enugu
3. Imo
4. Osun
5. Enugu
6. Akwa Ibom
7. Ebonyi
8. Cross River
9. Abia
10. Taraba
11. Kaduna
12. Borno
13. Bayelsa
14. Ondo
15. Lagos
16. Ogun

Perceived repercussion for 2023 elections

It is logical to conclude that if the attacks increase in these states, the electoral agency will have no other option than to cancel polls in these places and conduct rerun elections.

No doubt, when elections are cancelled due to security hitches, the situation affects INEC's overall performance and invariably reduces the masses' confidence in the ability of the federal government to give them free and smooth polls.

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Security expert speaks with Legit.ng

Speaking with Legit.ng on Monday, February 28, a security expert in Lagos noted that the voting exercise was peaceful generally, apart from pockets of violence across the country most of which came after the election.

The expert who spoke on conditions of anonymity, however, noted that Nigeria's security architecture is still understaffed.

For 4th time in 3 weeks, hoodlums set another INEC office ablaze

The office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Orlu, Imo state had been set ablaze.

The affected INEC office was said to have been attacked by some yet-to-be-identified hoodlums operating in the locality.

INEC's national commissioner, Fetus Okoye said that the office was under extensive renovation when it was torched.

Source: Legit.ng