2027: Group alleges midnight voter accreditation in Ideato, front-loading of BVAS units

A political watchdog in Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, the Ideato Progressive Alliance, IPA, has raised an alarm over a disturbing incident the place an alleged voting train has commenced in some communities within the LGA, demanding speedy investigation by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The Alliance alleged that people suspected to be personnel of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, moved round communities within the space, together with Urualla, late Wednesday, conducting an unauthorised and unlawful voter accreditation train.

It defined that credible info it acquired confirmed that residents had been summoned with their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, given ₦5,000 every, had their voter particulars copied, and had been subsequently instructed to thumbprint an digital system recognized by eyewitnesses as a BVAS system.

“IPA considers this development extremely dangerous and an affront to the integrity of the electoral process in Ideato. No political officeholder, candidate, political party or private individual has the authority to organise an independent voter accreditation exercise using BVAS or any other INEC electoral equipment outside the Commission’s officially authorised procedures.

“The circumstances surrounding this operation, particularly the distribution of money, collection of voter information and biometric capture under questionable conditions, raise grave questions about the purpose of the exercise and the authority under which it operated. These are not issues that INEC or the security agencies can afford to ignore. The conduct constitutes a serious breach of electoral laws and undermines public confidence in the 2027 elections.”

The IPA stated it was extra involved concerning the motive of the train, noting it was designed to generate unauthorised accreditation information and compromise the integrity of BVAS information forward of the January 16, 2027 elections.

It stated the problems raised had been severe issues that INEC should topic to unbiased forensic scrutiny with none additional delay, demanding that the identification of the individuals concerned be made identified to the general public instantly.

“IPA is particularly concerned that information harvested from unsuspecting voters has already been exploited to manipulate accreditation figures, create discrepancies between prospective actual voter turnout and the electronic records, and provide grounds for subsequent electoral disputes. We are also concerned about unauthorised access to and compromise of BVAS devices intended for deployment in Ideato.”

“We therefore demand that INEC immediately establish the identity of the persons involved, disclose whether any official authorisation was issued for the operation, and open all BVAS devices scheduled for deployment in Ideato to an independent forensic audit. The audit must guarantee that no compromised device or manipulated accreditation record will be deployed in our constituency.

“IPA calls on the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, to order an immediate and transparent investigation into this incident and examine the conduct of any National Commissioner or other official whose involvement or complicity may be established.

“We further demand that the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services and other relevant security agencies identify and investigate all persons connected with the operation, trace the four vehicles involved, preserve the video evidence and bring anyone found culpable to justice. INEC must also provide a public explanation of the circumstances surrounding the alleged use of BVAS in these communities. The Commission cannot allow its equipment, personnel or institutional authority to be used for activities that compromise electoral credibility.”

IPA tasked Ideato folks to stay vigilant, shield their PVCs and report each suspicious electoral exercise to the suitable authorities, and urged residents to not give up their voter info or submit themselves to any accreditation train outdoors formally introduced INEC procedures.

“We shall continue to document and expose every development that threatens the sanctity of our votes. The 2027 election must be decided by the freely expressed will of the Ideato people, not by questionable midnight operations, manipulated BVAS records or any attempt to predetermine the outcome before election day,” IPA asserted.