Favour Ikechukwu, PBA Journalism Mentee
Prime Business Africa reports that fight broke out between some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and some people who came for voter registration in Umudim, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State on Thursday July 28, 2022.
PBA had reported that some INEC officials at the said registration centre were accused of taking bribe to register people at the expense of those who came early but didn’t pay them.
Earlier, the matter was also reported by Authority radio, 91.9 FM in Nnewi.
READ ALSO: INEC Officers Accused of Taking Bribe To Register Voters In Anambra
It was learnt that at the resumption of voter registration on Thursday, the INEC officials were confronted as regards the earlier allegation of bribery, with majority of the registrants becoming more alert and monitoring them closely.
It degenerated into a fight when one of the persons who came for voter registration saw an INEC official collecting money surreptitiously from someone and accused him of collecting bribe.
The INEC official denied the allegation and attempted to beat up the reporter who was making a video of the scene. The phone was seized all pictures taken from the scene deleted before giving it back to her. Amidst the commotion, the case was reported to the Obi of Umudim HRH Bennett Okafor, to address the matter.
The officials still denied the allegation, claiming that the money they received was for their feeding and not any form of bribery. They also claimed that those who collected money from people were people who did online registration but they have been evicted from the premises.
The Obi dismissed the case and directed the Umudim local security unit to send officers who would ensure that the exercise went on peacefully. He equally asked the reporter to ignore what happened.
