Protesters besiege Abuja EU office, demand withdrawal of election report

Protesters from various parts of Nigeria on Thursday stormed the European Union (EU) office in Abuja and demanded the withdrawal of its report on the 2023 general elections.

The protesters under the aegis of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and Good Governance were carrying placards and banners with inscriptions such as “Don’t ignite war in Nigeria”, “EU’s report is a scam”, “Too much blood in Nigeria” and “Nigerians reject EU’s election observer report”.

The EU Electoral Observer Mission to Nigeria had in its final report said Nigeria’s 2023 elections were not credible, adding that trust in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had been severely damaged, especially as a result of its failure to upload the result of the presidential election electronically.

This came at a time the presidential candidates of the leading opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, are challenging President Bola Tinubu’s victory at the election petition tribunal. 

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Protesters besiege Abuja EU office, demand withdrawal of election report

Addressing newsmen at the entrance gate of the EU House, the leader of the protesters, Lillian Ene Ogbole, said, “The report of the EU is enough to trigger a national problem; it is enough to trigger a national chaos. Our security is at stake, our unity is at stake.

“Nigeria is a great country in Africa, the most populated country in West Africa and the pride of the African countries. If the EU is beginning to address our elections, and of course, whatever is daring the way they have presented this report, then we are scared.

“We are scared not just about what is going to affect Nigeria as a country but what is going to affect the whole of the African continent. We are striving to grow,…and we cannot grow in with the speed that we want to grow with the kind of report we are getting from the EU.

 “We are here to register our grievances, we are here to tell them that as a matter of urgency; they should withdraw their report and come up with a report that will be favourable to Nigeria.”