Rivers Bye-Election: AA candidate Douglas petitions INEC, IGP, rejects result

Dr. Douglas Fabeke, a candidate for the Action Alliance (AA) in the June 20 Rivers South-East Senatorial District bye-election, has formally rejected the announced results. He has lodged petitions with both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Inspector-General of Police, demanding an independent investigation into the conduct of the poll.

Fabeke detailed a litany of alleged electoral malpractices across the district's seven local government areas. His petition claims widespread voter suppression, intimidation, violence, and outright manipulation of results. He specifically accused some INEC officials and security agents of collusion to favor the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Olaka Nwogu.

Further allegations include the diversion of electoral materials, destruction of ballot papers belonging to his party, and malfunctioning BVAS machines that allegedly disenfranchised voters. Fabeke also pointed to incidents of vote buying, with sums ranging from ₦1,000 to ₦5,000 reportedly offered to voters. He contends that electoral officials interfered with the process, including manual thumb-printing and inflating figures for the PDP. The AA candidate stated that security personnel failed to intervene and, in some cases, allegedly aided obstructions.

Fabeke declared, “I hereby reject the result announced by INEC as the process that produced the declared outcome was compromised by widespread irregularities, violence, intimidation, voter suppression and manipulation.” He is seeking a full investigation, preservation and forensic review of all electoral materials, including BVAS data and result sheets. Ultimately, he urges INEC to declare him the rightful winner after reviewing the process.

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I hereby reject the result announced by INEC as the process that produced the declared outcome was compromised by widespread irregularities, violence, intimidation, voter suppression and manipulation.