The Police in Lagos says it will invite a traditional ruler who called a meeting and threats were made against residents who did not intend to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming elections.
A recorded audio from the meeting called by the Baale of Igbara community in Eti-Osa area of the state has since gone viral on social media.
In fact, the photo of a former Councillor in the area was posted as one of the persons who made threats.
Click below to listen to audio:
Lagos Police Command spokesman, Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the invitation to the traditional ruler in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday.
“The traditional ruler, a Baale, is to be invited for questioning. Intimidating voters will not be allowed.
“Everyone should feel free to vote the candidate of his or her choice,” Hundeyin said.
A recorded audio of a meeting held on Monday at the instance of the traditional ruler went viral and has attracted the attention of security agencies and civil societies in Lagos State.
In the 11 minutes and 34 seconds audio, the traditional ruler and one other requested the residents and those doing business in the area to vote for a political party in the forthcoming elections.
The traditional ruler, in his voice, wanted to know how many persons at the meeting had their PVCs and only about 20 answered in the affirmative, out of about 60 persons in attendance.
He wondered what happened to the rest who did not have PVCs.
“If we take the number of people here, we will not be less than 60, but only 20 have PVCs; what is happening to the rest?
“We are ready to fight; yes, I am not hiding it; I have narrated everything to you. In Nigeria, there is Lagos; in Lagos, there is Eti-Osa; within Eti-Osa, we have Igbara community and by the grace of God in Igbara today, we can take our decision.
“The people that will be friends with us, that will do business with us are those with PVCs and are willing to vote for our party. Nothing short of that,” he said in the audio.
The traditional ruler further said that if the people intended to vote for other political parties outside the one specified, he wouldn’t stop them from doing so, but that such will only happen “outside Igbara community”.
“You want to vote for other political parties? Not here ! Elections have been coming and going, we have never done this before.”
The traditional ruler was quoted as saying that a lot was at stake, warning that he would not allow the residents to jeopardise his future and the future of his children.
A second voice in the audio is quoted as telling the meeting that only those that will vote for the chosen party would enjoy peace in the area.
The voice even requested them to vote and snap the ballot paper to confirm that they had conformed with the directive to support a particular party.
