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The man you are seeing in the photo accompanying this story is not sleeping but dead. His name is John Okpanachi, said to be a brother to Prince Abubakar Audu, a former governor of Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria, who has been making vain efforts to return to power through the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Okpanachi was killed yesterday in his home town, Alloma. The youth leader was reportedly shot by assailants in police uniform for challenging them over non-receipt of electoral materials during yesterday’s council elections. News Express had reported yesterday afternoon that the election was marred by logistics problems, poor turnout, reports of violence and boycott by the main opposition parties.

Okpanachi was not the only viticm of the violence that trailed the ballot. Two persons were reported killed when supporters of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition ACN fought over distribution of electoral materials in Odu Ward 1 – which happens to be the ward of Governor Idris Wada – in Dekina Local Government. The assailants also allegedly abducted the ACN councillorship candidate in the area, Mallam Danjuma Yunusa, and some other youths, threw them into their vans and drove away.

Meanwhile, on the eve of the election, Adonis Omeh, a councillorship aspirant in Awo Ward 1 in Ojoku District of Ankpa, was shot at close range by unknown assailants. Omeh, of the PDP, was gunned down as he was returning from a meeting with some party members.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) had on Friday announced that they would boycott the ballot, accusing the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (KOSIEC) and the ruling party of having concluded arrangements to rig the process.

•Photo courtesy Hon. Dino Melaye.

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