A’Ibom REC alleges threat to life – Punch newspaper

Resident Electoral Commissioner, Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Austin Okojie

By Etim Ekpimah

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Austin Okojie, has alleged threats to his life by a security operative within the commission.

Okojie, who raised the alarm on Thursday during an emergency meeting with the staff of the commission in Uyo, said the threats were usually made through anonymous phone calls and text messages at night.

The REC said the security operative accused him of squandering monies meant for the Independent National Electoral Commission employees in Akwa Ibom.

He said the security official threatened to eliminate him if he failed to comply with the order to pay him an undisclosed amount within the week.

The INEC boss said that he and members of his family had been living in fear since he started receiving the threat calls.

He said,“My life is now in danger so also the lives of members of my family because of these threats. I can no longer move freely as any other citizen of this country. Now I live in utter fear of the unknown.”

The REC said he never discussed with or negotiated any deal with anybody officially and unofficially, saying all the allowances and claims of all employees had been paid.

Okojie urged the security agencies in the state to fish out those behind the threats.

He expressed the fear that if such dangerous elements were allowed to walk the streets of the state freely, many innocent lives would be rendered uncomfortable and endangered.

Our correspondent gathered that the Department of State Service that acted on the petition by Okojie had arrested the suspect who confessed to the allegations.

The DSS Director, Mr. Toma Minti, said the text messages were traced to one of the security guards attached to the commission.

Minti, who did not reveal the name of the security guard, said the man actually confessed to sending threat text messages to Okojie.

“One of the security guards was the one sending the text message. We have been able to get him and he has confessed. We have handed him over to the police,” he said.

Culled from The Punch newspaper