Police nab 16 for electoral offences in Cross River; suspects claim they’re APC members, vigilantes
The police command in Cross River on Saturday said it arrested 16 suspects for various alleged electoral offences in the Ogoja Local Government Area of the state.
The command spokesperson, Irene Ugbo, who addressed journalists, said the suspects were caught with arms and ammunition during their arrest in Ogoja after the polls.
Ms Ugbo stated that their arrest followed a diligent manhunt for those that disrupted some voting centres in the council area during the polls.
“They were caught with various arms and ammunition in Ogoja, and they will be punished in accordance with the law of the land,” she stated.
The command spokesperson alleged that the suspects were found to have worked for a candidate during last Saturday’s elections.
Ms Ugbo said that the suspects would be arraigned in court next week.
Drama, however, ensued as some of the suspects said they were members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and also vigilantes in their community in Obudu Local Government Area.
They also stated that they were never arrested in Ogoja but in Obudu without knowledge of their committed offence.
One of the suspects, Francis Ubi, who claimed to be a coordinator of the APC in his polling unit in Obudu, explained how they were randomly picked by the soldiers in Obudu a day before the presidential and National Assembly elections.
“As I speak with you, over N500,000 was paid into my account to coordinate my unit during the elections, and I am also a member of the vigilante. I have five others of my members here who were also arrested.
“While I was arrested in my house in Obudu, others were arrested at checkpoints in Obudu while on duty.
“Where they were arrested was approved for us to be keeping security by the council chairman, who also approved the use of specific guns for us,” he said.
Mr Ubi also claimed he was unfamiliar with many other suspects arrested alongside his members.
He said that after his arrest, he was taken to army barracks at Ogoja, where he spent days before being brought to the police command in Calabar on Friday.
(NAN)
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