Anambra postpones council polls
*police hunt for sponsor of arson
From Chuks Collins, Awka
CONSEQUENT upon last month's destruction of the building housing the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC), its boss, Chief Cornel Umeh, has announced the indefinite postponement of the state's council polls.
The local council election, according to the discarded time-table, was scheduled for Saturday December 18, 2004.
The state police command has also declared an intensive manhunt for a top government official whom some arrested suspects alleged paid them money to torch the Election Petition Tribunal building in Awka, the state capital.
Detectives from the state police command have arrested a middle- aged man, Uche Nwozor and his younger brother Azuka, in connection with last Friday's arson.
At the Justice Garba Nnabaruma-led tribunal, they claimed to have been sponsored by the government official.
The ANSIEC chairman yesterday at a press conference under the mango tree within the premises of the burnt three-storey building housing the commission, told journalists that he had formally written the state government over the state of affairs at his office.
Umeh also confirmed the return of the commission's workers who had earlier been asked to stay off pending the conclusion of sweeping the premises clean of any remaining explosives by the police bomb disposal experts.
Flanked by all his commissioners and secretary, Chief Emma Ezenwaji, Umeh assured all stakeholders of the commission's determination to conduct a credible, free and fair election.
He blamed those he described as undemocratic elements for throwing spanner in the works of his commission by destroying all the already procured electoral equipment, materials and records, especially the common store.
Umeh regretted that the hoodlums apparently knew when and where to strike. He added that they had struck when the whole electoral processes at the commission were gathering momentum.
He put the cost of the destroyed items at N925, 917,500. Because of this, he said the polls had to be postponed.
But he maintained that whenever the fund for the replacement of all materials and other logistics were released, a revised timetable would be published with the election coming almost immediately.
He thanked all chairmanship and councillorship candidates with their political parties for exhibiting a high sense of discipline, comportment, decency and sanity while the siege on the state lasted.
Umeh urged the undemocratic elements in the state to have a rethink and embrace peace for the interest of all.
The arrested Nwozor who was described as a notorious motor-park tout with Nnamdi Azikiwe University gate as his operational base, according to the state police boss Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, was caught with third degree burns on his body.
The arrest came at almost the same time the state government raised an alarm alleging that chief Chris Ubah and his followers have stock piled more explosives, for additional nefarious activities in the state.
The Information and Culture Commissioner, Chief Joe Ofokansi, alleged that confidential report the government had indicated that the explosives were intended for the bombing of the houses of some leaders of the Ubah camp.
These, he said included Dr. Emeka Eze, a chairmanship aspirant of the PDP for Onitsha North, Chief Chuma Nzeribe, a serving member of the House of Representatives, as well as Ubah's houses at Uga and Udoka Housing Estate, Awka.
Ofokansi pointed out that the objective was to create a pseudo impression that state government had commenced retaliation. He therefore urged the police to note the timely warning for further action, emphasising that the governor and all his aides have no interest in revenge.
In his situation report on the attempt to burn down the tribunal, the state's police boss disclosed that a total sum of N150, 000 was recovered from the Nwozor brothers.
He said the case had been transferred to Force CID Headquarters, Abuja for further investigation.
Ogbaudu also disclosed that an intensive manhunt was on for a top state government official who the suspects alleged paid them the money to torch the court building.
Ogbaudu noted that it was the timely intervention of officers of the Police State Command Awka who shared fence with the court that saved the building from complete destruction.
