A six-man armed gang has invaded a voter's registration centre in Surulere, Lagos, and carted away INEC Direct Data Capture machine and other accessories, reports the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
An eye witness, Idris Abdullahi, told NAN that the hoodlums shot sporadically before snatching the DDC machine at about 6 p.m. on Sunday at 047 registration centre on Alhaji Otun Street.
"The shooting made people scamper for safety. They grabbed me and asked why I did not run but I could not say anything, so they used a gun to hit me on the face.
"They snatched my motorcycle and also collected my brother's own. They used the motor cycle to convey the DDC machine and made their escape," said Mr. Abdullahi, a commercial motorcyclist.
He also confirmed that "They abandoned one motorcycle because it rammed onto a vehicle trying to make a turn and they snatched another motorcycle from another rider and escaped."
Another eye witness, Tijani Iliyasu, said that the hoodlums dragged him out of his shop opposite the centre and asked him to sit on the floor.
"After they had snatched the motorcycles outside, they went inside our compound and took another motorcycle and carted away the DDC machines," he said.
Abolade Bamidele, a council official from Ikate/Itire LCDA who was monitoring the exercise at the centre during the attack, confirmed the theft of the DDC machine.
"There were gun shots and everybody started running away, including INEC officials. They carried the computer, the printer, the camera and all the other items the INEC officials were using for the registration," she said.
She said that the INEC registration officers reported the matter at Ikate/Itire Police Station. She explained that the INEC officials only returned to the centre on Monday to distribute the laminated registration slips to those who had completed their registration procedure before the incident occurred.
The police at Ikate/Itire confirmed the incident to NAN but INEC spokesman, Femi Akinbiyi, and the police commissioner in Lagos, Marvel Akpoyibo, said they were unaware of the theft.
NAN reports that INEC is yet to replace the stolen DDC machine at the Surulere centre.
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