A video is making the rounds on social media with the claim that agents of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) assaulted a returning officer and coerced him to announce election results in favour of the party.
The event was said to have happened during the March 18 gubernatorial elections in Yauri Local Government Area of Kebbi state.
The video, which is in Hausa language, purportedly shows that the returning officer announced the election as inconclusive. Thereafter, the PDP agents attacked him, tore his clothes, and asked him to re-announce PDP candidate as the winner of the election.
The returning officer was seen in another set of clothing, after the alleged assault. The PDP agents also allegedly assaulted an agent of the All Progressives Congress (APC) agent present.
Claim: PDP Agents coerced returning officers to declare results in favour of the party in Yauri.
Verification
The CDD Election War Room checked the veracity of the video and found the claim to be true.
We reached out to Rukayyat Ibrahim, the INEC Public Affairs Officer in Kebbi state, and she confirmed that the incident happened on election day, March 18, 2023.
Verdict
The claim is true; CDD Election War Room can confirm that PDP agents assaulted a returning officer at Yauri, asking him to declare their candidate as the winner after the election was declared as inconclusive.
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