The ADC to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, DSP Usman Shugaba, on Saturday, led a team of policemen and some persons believed to be political thugs to invade the Press Centre in Lokoja.
The Aide-De-Camp and his men arrived the Press Centre, a facility of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ about 2:30 p.m.
They came in 12 Hilux vans on the pretext that thumb printed ballot papers were being stuffed into ballot boxes at the Centre.
They left 25 minutes later when they did not find anything incriminating.
Shugaba said they would continue the search anywhere they suspect that electoral malpractice was being carried out.
The Commissioner of Police in Kogi State, Mr Hakeem Busari, said he did not authorise the invasion.
Busari promised to call the ADC to know exactly what informed his action.
At the time of the invasion, many journalists were on the field covering the State House of Assembly election.
They only met the bar operators and few other workers of some business owners in the premises.
The Chairman of the state council of the NUJ, Alhaji Adeiza Jimoh, expressed shock over the action of the ADC and his team
Jimah said that the police invaded the Press Centre without serving any notice on the leadership of the union.
He said that the matter had been reported to the national headquarters of the NUJ.
Kogi is one of the seven states exempted from Saturday’s polls due to court judgements that nullified the election of their governors at various times in the past.
However, Houses of Assembly elections are being conducted in all the 36 states.
The other affected states are Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Ondo and Osun.
Meanwhile, armed thugs shot indiscriminately and tried to snatch ballot boxes at the polling units opposite Bishop Delisle Catholic Cathedral in Lokoja.
As at the time this report, some hoodlums in fake police and army uniforms were scaring away voters at the polling units.
An official of the Justice, Development and Peace Commission, Mr Sunday Adwjoh, said that many people from Karaworo Polling Station ran into the church premises for safety.
Adwjoh who spoke on phone said “as we are talking, all of us are lying down to escape being hit by stray bullets.’
Also, at Oke Egbe Polling Unit 01 in Yagba West Local Government Area, a man was shot on the leg when some people invaded the polling unit to snatch ballot box and other materials.
The victim, identified as Mr Tunde Oladipo, was said to have joined hands with others at the polling unit to prevent the armed thugs from snatching the ballot box.
The invaders were, however, prevented from going away with the ballot box.
