According to US, APC supporters intimidated and stopped Igbo and non-party voters from casting ballots during the Lagos government election while police were present.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) followers in Nigeria, who are in power, were analyzed by the US government for their attacks on and attempts to dissuade supporters of alternative parties, especially Igbo people, from exercising their right to vote in the March 2023 Lagos State governorship election.
The US Department of State said that violent occurrences and anomalies marked the 2016 general election in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, in a report titled “2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Nigeria.”
Several election observers stated in the study that, in spite of voter intimidation and suppression in various areas of the nation, poll results generally represented the wishes of the electorate.
In spite of numerous anomalies and technical and logistical challenges, it states, “Abuses or Irregularities in Recent Elections: National elections were widely reported to have reflected the will of voters.”
“Despite claims of voter suppression and vote buying, campaigning at polling places, a lack of ballot confidentiality, violence, and intimidation, many impartial observers concluded that the outcomes of the year’s presidential, legislative, and state-level elections represented the will of the electorate.
“All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters are accused of intimidating and suppressing voters in Igbo-dominated regions during the March 18 state election in Lagos. Igbo voters won the February 25 national election, which was won by Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi.
Social media videos went viral, depicting APC supporters in Ojo threatening to harm ethnic Igbo voters who were thought to be in favor of Obi. APC supporters also assaulted journalists in Eti-Osa, sometimes shutting down voting and barring non-Yoruba voters from going to the polls.
In Amuwo-Odofin, they likewise set fire to property and physically obstructed voting. Videos on social media appear to show that police officers were there, but they did not stop the attacks. It further stated that there was no proof the accused culprits had been detained or faced legal action.
