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 (FCT), carting away ballot papers and forcing a temporary halt to the exercise.
The incident reportedly occurred shortly after voting commenced at about 9 a.m., throwing the polling unit into confusion and panic.
Speaking with journalists, Assistant Presiding Officer I, Musa Ibrahim, said the attackers stormed the polling unit and snatched two bundles of ballot papers. He disclosed that each bundle contained 100 ballot papers, adding that 27 had already been used for the chairmanship and councillorship elections before the disruption.
According to him, the hoodlums fled with the remaining ballot papers but security operatives on duty helped secure other sensitive and non-sensitive materials at the unit.
Ibrahim explained that after calm was restored, efforts to resume voting were 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,” he said.
He added that while some party agents agreed that the process should continue, others objected on the grounds that the stolen ballot papers could be used to manipulate the election outcome.
“We have now put the election on hold, waiting for 2:30 p.m. when voting should close. Then we will count what we have and declare results,” he stated.
A witness, Musa Bashir, told The Cable that the disruption followed disagreements among party agents after the sitting council chairman visited the polling unit to observe proceedings. He alleged that the area is considered a stronghold of the chairman and suggested the attack may have been aimed at frustrating his supporters.
Efforts by stakeholders to persuade party agents to allow voting to continue reportedly failed, leaving voters stranded.
According to NAN, several voters were seen sitting on the floor while others stood around the polling area, anxiously waiting for a possible resumption of the electoral process.