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Final Report: Catholic Church says 2023 election “worst in Nigeria’s history”
The Catholic Church has released its final report on the 2023 general elections, saying that the election is the worst in the history of Nigeria.
This was contained in the final report released by the Church and Society Department of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) signed by its Director and the executive secretary of Caritas Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Uchechukwu Obodoechina and presented to the public on Friday, July 28, in Abuja.
In its report, the church regretted that despite an improved electoral act, financial support from local and international partners, as well as heightened anticipation of citizens, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies failed woefully to deliver.
Speaking, Rev. Fr. Obodoechina said that there ought to be punishment for those who compromised and manipulated the results of the elections.
Obodoechina said that the position of the Catholic Church on the election was premised on the report of its Church and Society Department team, as well as the Caritas Nigeria, dispatched across the country to monitor the elections.
He further noted that the 2023 general election was marred with several irregularities including violence, intimidation, disenfranchisement, vote-buying, logistics challenges, et al.
He also regretted that Nigerians are disappointed in the outcome of the elections, feeling as they do that the results, as declared by INEC did not reflect the wishes of the majority of the electorates.
The executive secretary of Caritas Nigeria pointed out that ten political parties instituted 1, 341 cases, which constitutes about 90 per cent of the 1, 490 contested seats.
He also noted that 346 judges have been engaged in different tribunals, making the 2023 elections the most litigated, contentious, disputed elections in the history of Nigeria’s electoral democracy.
Obodoechina said: “[The election] witnessed violence, intimidation, disenfranchisement, vote-buying, logistics challenges that affected the credibility of the election including the perceived compromise from security agencies that aided the activities of hoodlums.
“Obviously, majority of Nigerians are disappointed with the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies despite the huge financial and logistics support it received.
“However, the 2023 general elections have come and gone, and had unfortunately left mixed feelings in the minds of most Nigerians. Most electorates are feeling disappointed in the outcome of the elections.
“This was because they did not feel the results, as declared by INEC, reflected the wishes of the majority of Nigerians.
“One of the greatest flaws of the 2023 elections was the inability, unwillingness, and outright refusal of INEC to upload results from Form EC8A to the IReV portal in real-time from the Polling Units as was severally promised before the conduct of the election.
“Presently, 10 political parties have instituted 1, 341 cases, representing about 90 per cent of the 1, 490 contested seats; and 346 judges have been engaged in different tribunals, making the 2023 elections the most litigated, contentious, disputed elections in the history of Nigeria’s electoral democracy.
“There are chances that the 1, 341 petitions may not be the last since some other cases have not come to the fore.”
Obodoechina lamented that despite the humongous sum dumped into the election, more than N3 billion is estimated to be spent by INEC in defending cases brought against it due to the outcome of the elections.
The Enugu State Government has suspended His Royal Majesty, Igwe Eze William Ezugwu, the traditional ruler of Ibagwa Ogbozalla Opi Autonomous Community, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu state.
The state government accused Igwe Ezugwu of violating provisions of the state’s Traditional Rulers Law.
In a letter of suspension dated September 24, the Enugu State Government cited his alleged failure to constitute his cabinet, failure to establish a Town Union governing body, and persistent conduct deemed inconsistent with the laws governing traditional rulers in the state.
The suspension comes barely three weeks after Igwe William Ezugwu received NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi at his palace in Opi, Nsukka LGA, where he reportedly blessed Obi’s presidential ambition.
The Deputy Commander of Operation Rainbow, CSP (Chief Superintendent of Police) Dennis David Babale, has been killed after gunmen suspected to be Fulani Bandits ambushed personnel of the security outfit along the Bokkos-Barkin Ladi road in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Operation Rainbow is a State-backed community security and intelligence-gathering outfit in Plateau State, Nigeria, originally established in 2010 under former Governor Jonah Jang and recently revamped by Governor Caleb Mutfwang to combat rural violence and beef up grassroots security.
The incident reportedly occurred at about 4:06 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 when the personnel, travelling in a Toyota Hilux vehicle, came under attack by unidentified gunmen.
Troops of Sector 4, Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP), responded to a distress report and moved to the location of the attack.
Sources told reporters that Babale sustained gunshot wounds during the ambush and was evacuated to the General Hospital, Barkin Ladi, for medical attention.
Following the attack, troops, working alongside personnel of other security agencies, launched offensive operations and a manhunt for the assailants within the general area.
Security forces have intensified efforts to track the attackers and prevent further attacks along the route.
Director General/CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the World Meteorological Organization, Prof. Charles Anosike and other Chief Executive Officers of similar agencies across the world, have concluded a one week high level dialogue on Climate Science Information for Climate Finance and the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange (SOFE) in Beijing, China.
The event which was hosted by World Meteorological Organization (WMO), took place from September 14 to 18, 2026 and featured discussions on: strengthening the role and leadership development of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in mobilizing climate finance; aligning scientific and technical capabilities with risk-informed, people-centred early warning systems; shifting from technical assistance to sustainable investments by expanding practical cooperation between meteorological frameworks and multilateral financing entities; and support to NMHSs leadership on strengthening strategic thinking and fostering productive partnerships.
Held back-to-back with the High-level dialogue was the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange to Fujian Province for first-hand exposure to the implementation of Multi-hazard, Alert, Zero-gap and Universal (MAZU) platform – China’s AI-driven meteorological early warning solution in support of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative and disaster risk reduction practices through technical exchanges, field visits and peer learning.
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