Result saga: Security agents fight over result sheet

There was confusion yesterday at Ijero-Ekiti in Ekiti State, as security agents fought at the Ijero Local Government Collation Centre.

It was learnt that shortly after the result was declared, security operatives demanded Form EC8C, which contained the result of the presidential poll in the council.
Security operatives drawn from the Police, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Immigration Service and others were involved in the scuffle.
As the brawl degenerated, DSS officers took away the Electoral Officer, simply identified as Mrs. Ogundipe, to an unknown destination.
The Collation Officer, Francis Adebayo, later ran to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, without the collation sheet.

Adebayo, who said he escaped being shot, said the original result was in Mrs. Ogundipe’s possession.
But the Collation officer’s claim was refuted by the Returning Officer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who gave his as Gen. Ayeni (rtd) and his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ojo Atibioke.
They said there was no commotion in Ijero, adding that the argument was between security agencies and election officials.
Parties, however, accepted the duplicate copy brought by Adebayo, which  reflected the results as endorsed by their agents.