Reports suggest that individuals believed to be political hoodlums have seized ballot papers designated for the local government elections in Kajola Local Government Area of Oyo state.
It was gathered that the incident occurred early on Friday, with the ballot papers intended for use in the upcoming local government election scheduled for Saturday.
The Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission, OYSIEC, is overseeing the election process across all 33 local government areas in the state.
An undisclosed source mentioned that the snatched ballot papers have been successfully retrieved from the suspects, with approximately 14 individuals taken into custody.
The source, who chose not to reveal their identity, additionally disclosed that the affected ballot papers have been transported back to Ibadan.
Isiaka Olagunju, the Chairman of OYSIEC, confirmed the assault on electoral officials when reached for comment.
He clarified that the incident did involve an attack on their officials, but categorically stated that no ballot papers were taken.
In a telephone conversation with NewsNow on Friday, Olagunju reiterated that the Divisional Police Officer in the area has been instructed to apprehend the suspects.
“Contrary to rumors, there was an assault on our officials last night.
“Our officials were targeted at our Okeho office. However, no ballot paper was seized.
“The DPO of Okeho and other security personnel escorted our Electoral Officer back to Ibadan. They have just returned to Okeho. We have directed the Okeho DPO to apprehend the suspects. That is the accurate sequence of events.”