Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Some youths in Imo State under the aegis of the Ikeduru Youth Alliance (IYA) have called for the arrest of all those behind the attempted bomb detonation at, Iho, Ikeduru Collation Centre during the governorship and House of Assembly election on March 9.
While addressing newsmen on Sunday at Ikeduru, the leader of the youths, Samuel Nkwokocha, who also condemn the actions of some thugs that led to the cancellation of some units’ result in the area, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare the Ikeduru House of Assembly candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Ogbuagu, the winner.
According to Nwokocha, Ogbuagu scored the highest number of votes and was declared the winner at the Collation Centre at Ikeduru before a hoodlum was caught with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
While appealing to INEC to shun its rerun exercise in some units where the results were canceled, the youth body urged the security agencies to apprehend the masterminds of the bomb scare.
He maintained that as far as the suspects were still walking freely without arrest, the people of the area would be afraid to come out for the rerun.
Similarly, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC)in Ikeduru, Vitalis Ajumbe, who narrated the incident of the bomb discovery from the hoodlums said that singular effort of the youths of the community helped in averting a disaster.
According to Ajumbe, the hoodlums numbering 11, invaded the booth attempting to snatch the ballot boxes before they were overpowered by the youths who later found the explosives on them.
The video of the hoodlums which has already gone viral in the social media, saw one of the suspects confessing that they were sent by a prominent politician in the state.
“They must not allow these criminals to go free; they must be arrested; they are responsible for the results being inflated in most areas,” Ajumbe said.
Ajumbe has also condemned the number of votes churned out from Ahiazu Mbaise, Ezinihite Mbaise, and Aboh Mbaise, alleging that INEC used their Collation Officers whom he said also hailed from the area to rig the election.