Again what some Nigerians feared prior to the election played itself out most profoundly in the Northern part of the country: the issue of under-age voting which is usually prevalent in the North. The same trend repeated itself in Saturday’s election where persons, all minors, were seen being accredited and allowed to vote in an election where the baseline for the age of eligible voters is 18 years.
In the 2011 election, underage voting was the norm in the North with international media, including the CNN, beaming images of infants on the queue who were duly accredited and allowed to vote against the tenets of the law and the provision of adult suffrage. Surprisingly, INEC turned a blind eye to the matter which at the very least tainted the Nigerian election.
The underage voter captured above whose name could not be ascertained at the time of filling
this report was seen doing accreditation at the Fulani Market Unit, Abbare A Ward in Lau Local Government of Taraba State.
There were other instances in Polling Units visited in Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa and Gombe States,
Where some INEC officials against protests from a section of the voters boldly accredited infants to vote in an election meant only for adults.
The INEC officials, security personnel and some persons with vested interest in the candidates the infants had been told to vote for tried to shield the infants from cameras as some voters armed with smart phones struggled to capture the mages of the child-voters.
