Unknown gunmen attack polling units in Enugu, burn 3 vehicles

Unidentified gunmen numbering about 10, on Wednesday, disrupted ongoing council elections at Enugu South council area ward 3, in Obeagu community near Enugu, burning electoral materials and three vehicles.

The gunmen stormed the polling units of the ward at about 1 p.m. in a Sennia car and Toyota Highlander Jeep and started shooting sporadically, which scared all electorate, election officials, election observers and journalists away.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who by chance witnessed when the masked gunmen attacked, reports that they attacked every single thing that signifies election in the ward’s polling units.

In the heat of the moment, they turned around on the Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) bus coming for election coverage but most of the journalists, including the NAN reporter in the bus scampered to safety.

However, most of the electorate, election officials, other people in the neighbourhood got serious injuries while trying to escape and an unidentified politician got a serious bullet injury on his head.

NAN later learnt that a journalist and the ESBS bus driver were held back in the ESBS vehicle.

They were, however, released after being given matchete cuts and they are currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in Enugu.

Confirming the incident, Dr Mike Ajogwu, Chairman of Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC), said that the commission has learnt of the unfortunate incident.

Ajogwu said: “I have sent some top commissioners and staff of the commission to go and find out what really happened and get back to me.

“On whether the elections in that ward will be declared inconclusive or otherwise,” he said: “It will largely depend on the feedback from those I have mandated to visit the ward already.”

Efforts made to get the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, through a series of calls and text messages to comment on the incident proved abortive. (NAN)