Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accredited election observer, Al’amin Umar, was detained by the police in Borno State on Saturday
Mr Umar, who is one of the observers working with the Centre for Journalism and Development (CJID), said he was arrested by a police officer attached to Kekeno(005) under Kukawa in Kukawa local government.
“At about 11 a.m., I was suspected to be a fraud and arrested by the police officer attached to Kekeno(005) under Kukawa of Kukawa local government.
“I was taken to the DPO for questioning. Due to a lack of network, I could not reach the organization to prove my identity. My phone, ID card and phone were seized as the police officers tagged me a criminal,” Mr Umar said in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES.
He said “after almost two hours and a series of questioning, the electoral officer of Kukawa scanned my tag and sent it via WhatsApp to the INEC HQ in Maiduguri for verification.
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“Thankfully, after some minutes, the HQ confirmed my identity and I was freed. It was almost 1 p.m. I left the Kukawa polling centre to Monguno Local Government polling centre 2 to observe the situation there as well. There, too, I was detained by the military for trying to talk to voters coming from the centre after casting their votes. I was freed and made to delete some of the pictures I took after proving my identity,” he added.
Borno is one of the 28 states where governorship elections are being held today.
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