Chaos Erupts During Voting Exercise Across Rivers State

The confluence of these challenges in the state has prompted some local government areas to call off elections.
Chaos has erupted in Rivers State today, as the electoral exercise in the region has been threatened by violence. Citizen reporters on the ground have alerted SaharaReporters to acts of violence and mischief at polling units across the southern state.
As voters waited in the heat, reports suggest, tensions heightened. A number of fights are said to have broken out this morning, and at least one person is reported to have been shot.
Representatives at the election monitor CLEEN Foundation have said that gunmen arrived at Mile 4, Rumueme, Obiakpor local government area, Rivers State, and clashed with army personnel. "Some of the gunmen ran away with bullet wounds, same with the army personnel, but unconfirmed information has it that one of the army personnel is dead," the representative told SaharaReporters. "The time of the incident is between 8 and 9 a.m. today."
A second major problem in the state can be attributed to issues with accreditation on the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Card readers are said to have failed in many locations, prompting officials to implement manual accreditation. In some regions, INEC officials are reported to have not shown up all together.
Political mischief has also made an ugly appearance across the state. Ballot boxes across the country have reportedly been snatched, and materials missing or stolen. A citizen reporter told SaharaReporters "No INEC official or material is in Akuku Toru LGA, Wards 15, 16 & 17, and its environs. Materials have been snatched."
"Be on the alert that it has been observed that result sheets of some units are missing," the source added.
Echoing this report, others reported that a man was caught with fraudulent result sheets in the region.
These issues have generated massive attention, as elsewhere in the country, today's election has been relatively peaceful thus far. The confluence of these challenges in the state has prompted some local government areas to call off elections.
At the time of this report, elections appear to have been called off in the Opobo/Nkoro LGA of Rivers State. Kofi Bartels, host of the program 'Hard Facts' on Nigeria Info Port Harcourt, tweeted today that the contest in the location has been called off as the wrong materials were provided by INEC. "Elections in Opobo, Rivers State called-off," he wrote. "Wrong result sheets sent to the area."
Details will follow as they are made available. Continue to follow SaharaReporters for more updates.