An agent for the Labour Party, Mr Dayo Israel, appeared before the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Tuesday and made a stunning revelation. He claimed that the current Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his wife, Ibijoke, had invalid voter cards but were still allowed to cast their votes in the governorship election held on March 18.
The witness, who monitored Unit 006, Ward 15, Lagos Island Local Government, shared this testimony as part of the petition filed by the Labour Party's candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, who is seeking to nullify Sanwo-Olu's return as the Governor of Lagos.
According to Israel, the card reader indicated that Sanwo-Olu and his wife had invalid voter cards, yet they were still allowed to vote. He argued that this was a violation of the electoral process set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
During cross-examination by INEC's counsel, Charles Edosomwan, Israel alleged that he was physically assaulted by supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on election day. He claimed to have identified them as APC supporters based on their language and stated that they threatened to harm voters who did not vote for the APC.
"I am not a member of the Labour Party, but I was assigned as an agent. When the APC thugs recognized me as an LP agent, they beat me up. They also said if voters did not vote for APC, they would beat them too," Israel explained.
Israel further described the incident, stating that four individuals attacked him during the voting process. However, he managed to escape, changed his clothes to disguise himself, and returned to monitor the vote counting.
The witness also highlighted cases of multiple voting at the polling unit and claimed that INEC officials failed to intervene despite witnessing the irregularities.
The hearing on the petition has been adjourned until July 3, when the proceedings will continue.