As the Edo State governorship election commences, the police have said ‘vote buying’ is the most difficult offence to stop during elections in the country. 

Frank Mba, a Deputy Inspector General of Police, who stated this on Saturday, explained that perpetrators of the act always devised different tactics to have their way. 

Mr Mba, who is deployed to oversee the ongoing Edo State governorship election, noted that most of the vote buying takes place inside the residences of the perpetrators. 

He said the security agents had no capacity to police everywhere, particularly rooms of perpetrators engaging in the offence, declaring that the menace could only be tackled if it happened in the public glare. 

“The reason is simple: the bulk of vote buying and selling that takes place doesn’t take place in the glare of the public, in the glare of the media, or in the glare of the law enforcement agents.  Sometimes, they take place in the bedrooms of citizens, and we don’t have the capacity to police every bedroom, every kitchen, every toilet, and every balcony. But our pledge is that the ones that happen in the glare of the public, the ones our security network is able to detect and intercept, we will deal with,” Mr Mba said on Channels TV. 

Vote buying and selling, which has become a menace among politicians during elections, has also constituted electoral offence.  

Peoples Gazette reports that as the electorate exercise their franchise in the Edo State governorship election, a total of 17 governorship candidates of political parties are on the ballot.

However, the top three contenders for the poll are Asue Ighodalo (PDP), Monday Okpebholo (APC), and Olumide Apata (Labour party).