Agbonfoh Alfred Okojie, a 36-year-old native of Uromi in Edo State, faces several threat to life over allegedly exposing electoral irregularities carried out by members of his own political party during the 2023 Presidential Election.
Okojie, born on 4th December 1987 and a lifelong resident of Uromi, is a member of the Esan ethnic group and a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He joined the party on December 28, 2017, motivated by a belief in its promise of transparency, accountability, and democratic reform. Over the years, he rose in influence after successfully mobilizing youths, men, and women in his community, earning recognition as a valuable grassroots mobilizer.
His growing relevance placed him at the center of the 2023 Presidential Election, where he served as an APC polling unit agent on February 25, 2023. According to Okojie, what was meant to be a democratic process quickly became a journey into fear, intimidation, and threats to his life.
Okojie explained that while monitoring activities at his assigned polling unit, he witnessed several irregularities that contradicted the principles of free and fair elections. He stated that the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, had won convincingly in his unit. However, senior party stakeholders allegedly pressured agents to declare the APC candidate as the winner regardless of the actual votes cast.
Faced with a moral dilemma, Okojie said he chose truth over loyalty. He refused to endorse or support the manipulation of results, openly condemning the alleged malpractice. He further revealed that he spoke publicly after the election, telling members of the Labour Party and others that the election in his unit was neither free nor fair.
His stance, angered party leaders who felt betrayed by his refusal to comply to the elctoral fraud. According to Okojie, he soon became the target of hostility, threats, and violent retaliation. He alleged that APC members sent political thugs to intimidate him, beat him, and destroy his house and properties. The attackers reportedly vowed to silence him permanently for speaking against the party’s actions.
While it is sad that politics in Nigeria has taken a direction that is undemocratic and one that is devoid of transparency and fairness, we are seizing this opportunity to call on international communities to come to our rescue in ensuring that citizens who stands for equity, fairness and justice are saved from the hands of some political actors.
Mr. Josh Ekiomador reporting.