Polls: EFCC arrests over 65 people for alleged voter inducement

Although the CBN has reversed its policy by directing banks to accept the old notes, many Nigerians still find it difficult to find cash.

Kunle Sanni • March 18, 2023

EFCC at a polling unit used to illustrate the story [Photo Credit; Punch Newspaper]

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested over 65 persons across the 28 states where governorship and state assembly elections were conducted on Saturday.

The Commission, in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said the arrests were carried out across states for offences involving allegations of voter buying.

The arrests cast a sharp contrast against the current naira scarcity in the country as a result of the CBN redesigning of the old naira notes of N200, N500, and N1,000.

Although the CBN has reversed its policy by directing banks to accept the old notes, many Nigerians still find it difficult to find cash.

According to the Commission, twenty of the suspects were arrested by operatives from the Ilorin Zonal Command, while 13 suspects were nabbed by operatives on election monitoring duty at the Kaduna Zonal Command.

The teams monitoring the polls in the Port Harcourt Zone arrested a total of 12 people for various offences bordering on inducing voters with money to vote for their preferred candidates, while the Uyo Zonal Command made 4 arrests in Calabar. The remaining suspects were arrested in Gombe, Sokoto, kebbi and Niger states.

The EFCC disclosed that the suspects arrested for vote buying in Kaduna, consist of 10 males and 3 females. The anti-graft authority further explained that the suspects were apprehended by operatives working on intelligence during the monitoring exercise.

“A suspect allegedly involved in vote buying was nabbed at School Road, Unguwan Rimi Kaduna. The suspect who initially resisted arrest, is however in custody, pending the conclusion of the investigation.

“In Kaduna, the Commission said the team headed by ACE II Esmond Garba arrested a suspect named Buhari Muhammed in PU 002 Dogara Yaro Dagari area.

“He was arrested with Voter Coupons, which he confessed would be used to trace and pay those who voted for his party.

“Furthermore, the team monitoring the voting exercise around LEA Kabala Doki, Kaduna led by CSE Wakilu Omokide also arrested two individuals suspected of vote buying. Upon their arrest, a total sum of N67,500, a list containing names of voters with their PVC numbers and their bank account detail,s amongst others, were recovered from them,” he said.

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