Yiaga Africa has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct an audit of stolen permanent voter cards (PVCs) in Ward 2, Odo-Otin Local Government Area of Osun State and make arrangements to prevent the disenfranchisement of affected eligible voters.

The civic organisation, in its third pre-election assessment report made available to the Peoples Gazette on Tuesday, said the disruption of PVC distribution and theft of voting materials posed a direct risk to the voting rights of affected residents in the state.

“Unless the stolen PVCs are promptly accounted for and affected voters are provided with effective remedies beyond the downloadable PVC option, eligible voters may be disenfranchised.

“The incident also risks undermining confidence in the electoral process, particularly within affected communities,” Yiaga Africa said.

The organisation said the attack on the affected PVC distribution centre exposed the vulnerabilities in the protection of electoral personnel, facilities and sensitive materials during critical pre-election operations. 

“The ability of armed actors to disrupt an official INEC activity and remove electoral materials underscores the need for enhanced, intelligence-led security at registration areas, polling units, collation centres, and other critical election facilities,” it added.

The group called on INEC to publish the number of stolen PVCs in the affected area and the general PVC collection rate in the state ahead of the August 15 governorship poll.

Earlier on July 27, the police command in Osun State said 10 suspected armed thugs attacked INEC officials in Odo-Otin council area, fired sporadically into the air and carted away three packs of PVCs.

INEC, in its reaction to the incident, said the reported attack would not discourage its readiness to conduct a free, fair and credible poll.