Hoodlums Snatch Ballot Papers At Abaji Polling Unit, Voting Halted
Suspected hoodlums on Saturday disrupted voting at A.U. Suleman II Polling Unit in Abaji South Ward during the 2026 Abaji Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory, carting away ballot papers and forcing a temporary halt to the exercise.
The incident occurred shortly after voting commenced at about 9 a.m., throwing the polling unit into confusion.
Speaking with journalists, the Assistant Presiding Officer I, Musa Ibrahim, said the attackers invaded the polling unit and snatched two bundles of ballot papers.
According to him, each bundle contained 100 ballot papers, and 27 had already been used for the chairmanship and councillorship elections before the disruption.
The hoodlums, he said, made away with the remaining ballot papers.
He, however, noted that officials, in collaboration with security agents on duty, had secured other sensitive and non-sensitive materials at the unit.
Ibrahim explained that after calm was restored, attempts to resume voting stalled due to disagreements among party agents, who insisted that the missing ballot papers must first be recovered.
“We did the maths and saw that about 73 are missing. Since the BVAS has taken cognisance of the ones we have used, elections can continue and a detailed report will be made to address the matter.
“While some party agreed that the process should continue, some other agents strongly disagreed on the grounds that the stolen papers could be used to manipulate the outcome of the elections.
“We have now put the election on holds waiting for 2.30 p.m when election should close and then we will count what we have and declare results,” NAN quoted him as saying.
A witness, Musa Bashir, who spoke with The Cable said the incident occurred amid disagreements among party agents following the visit of the sitting council chairman to observe proceedings at the polling unit.
He alleged that the unit is considered a stronghold of the chairman and suggested that the attack may have been aimed at frustrating his supporters.
Bashir added that efforts by stakeholders to persuade the agents to allow voting to continue were unsuccessful.
According to NAN, stranded voters were seen sitting on the floor, while others stood around the polling area, waiting in anticipation of a possible resumption of the process.
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