The by-election conducted in some states on Saturday has been caharacterised by vote-buying and thuggery.
In Ogun State, security operatives reportedly arrested two staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and a chapter chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in an undisclosed hotel in Iperu-Remo in Ikenne council area with a huge amount of money in their possession.
The INEC officers, a man and a woman, were arrested alongside the politician who was allegedly planning to buy votes.
In a viral video, the suspects were seen squatting during interrogation by a security officer.
As reported by Vanguard, the male INEC officer told the interrogator that he was asked by his supervisor to go and collect the cash from the politician.
The PDP member in the video was heard denying his involvement in the alleged cash-for-vote incident.
“You are just showing money; I don’t know anything about it,” he said.
The officer interrogating them said intelligence showed that the INEC staff had earlier been contacted and given a large sum of money by party officials for vote buying during the by-election.
Reacting to the incident, the Ogun PDP said the arrest was a ploy to intimidate and disenfranchise its members.
The party’s director of media and communications, Mr Akinloye Bankole, said in a statement that the party officer was arrested around 3:30am by security operatives, who allegedly broke into his hotel room in a “commando-style operation”.
He said the PDP officer was in his hotel room relaxing with his driver and an aide when he was whisked away.
Bankole maintained that contrary to reports, no electoral materials were found in his possession, nor was he caught with large sums of money.
“He had only ₦100,000 in his room. No electoral material was discovered in his hotel room or car.
“It is part of a grand plan to scare our people and disenfranchise them. This is unfortunate and shameful in a democracy.”
He also dissociated the arrested member from the arrest of two INEC officials and others who were allegedly apprehended with large amounts of cash in the area.
“He does not know the INEC staff arrested. It is practically impossible for him to lodge in the same hotel room with an INEC official.
“He was only carrying out his responsibility as the state officer of the party under whose watch this election is being conducted,” Bankole added.
While insisting that the arrest was politically motivated, the party called on relevant authorities to ensure the immediate release of its chairman, warning that attempts to suppress opposition voices during the election would not stand.
Elsewhere in Kano, the state police command apprehended no fewer than 288 thugs with dangerous weapons at the four local government areas during the exercise.
Spokesman for the command, Mr Abdullahi Haruna, confirmed the arrest of the suspects to Punch.
“As at 1pm today (Saturday), 288 thugs were apprehended with dangerous weapons in the local government areas where the bye-election is going,” Haruna said.
He said the suspects were arrested for allegedly attempting to disrupt the bye-election.
He said the hoodlums were apprehended alongside their sponsors with dangerous weapons, including one pump-action gun, four locally made guns, cutlasses and sticks, among others.
“Items recovered from the suspects included one pump-action gun, four locally made guns, a number of cutlasses, sticks, bow and arrow, knives, catapult, among other dangerous weapons,” he said.
Meanwhile, hundreds of armed thugs were rounded up by the security at Bagwai town as they attempted to disrupt the by-election into the state house of assembly in the local government.
INEC resident electoral commissioner (REC), Mr Abdu Zango, confirmed to newsmen that the thugs were moving into Bagwai with their arms, but security operatives were on hand and they rounded up and arrested them.
Zango said some thugs that were rounded up in Shanono town nearly disrupted the movements of election materials but security quickly came to the rescue of the situation.
He said Shanono was known to be traditionally a volatile area when it comes to elections, adding the reports we are getting are that things are going smoothly because of the heavy presence of security agents.
