UPDATED: Half-naked Nasarawa women protest poll results

No fewer than 1,000 aged women from across the 13 local government areas of Nasarawa State on Monday held a protest in Lafia, the state capital, seeking a review of the recently conducted governorship election in the state.

The woman, who were dressed half-naked with leaves in their hands, sang emotional songs in Hausa language.

Speaking during the protest, which held at the Peoples Democratic Party secretariat in Lafia, the state Women Leader of the PDP, Stella Oboshi, claimed that the party’s governorship candidate, David Ombugadu, won the poll.

According to her, the Independent National Electoral Commission was wrong to have declared incumbent Governor Abdullahi Sule as the winner of the election.

She said, “Peaceful demonstration in politics is allowed because there is freedom of speech. As you can see, since Tuesday last week when we started protesting, we have not harmed anyone, we have also not insulted anyone or destroyed any property.

“Our demand is that INEC should review the results collated from across the state and announce the actual winner of the governorship election.”

Reacting to the recent ban on all forms of protests by the Nasarawa State Police Command, Oboshi said, “The police have banned protests in the state. We are not outside, we are inside our party’s office. So, I feel we are not against the law. We are law-abiding citizens. As PDP women, we respect the laws of the land.”

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress in the state on Monday advised members of the opposition PDP to seek redress in the court, rather than “debasing womanhood by dragging them naked into the streets to protest against the electoral process, which led to the re-election of Governor Sule.”

In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Douglas Otaru, the Nasarawa APC said, “It is most unfortunate, despicable, odious and unpatriotic act for the opposition PDP to condone acts that is uncivilised in the modern society. How can they in the modern society debase and cajole women to come out naked in the name of politics? There are civilised ways of addressing issues in the contemporary society.

“To us in the APC, the stage-managed, embarrassing carnival of nudity is a charade, show of shame and worthless debasement of our women who were brainwashed with peanuts to demonstrate the most expensive, immoral and blasphemous desecration of their bodies, which supposedly should be the temple of their creator.”