ICPC arrests INEC official, seizes bunch of cash he collected from party agent

It was gathered that an unnamed party offered the money to the INEC staff.

Olumayowa Samuel • November 11, 2023

Polling Unit 005, Township Primary School, Ikenegbu 1,

The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission has arrested an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) caught with a bunch of money during Saturday’s governorship election in Imo State.

The anti-corruption agency nabbed the INEC official while monitoring the conduct of polls at Polling Unit 005, Township Primary School, Ikenegbu 1, in the Owerri Municipal LGA.

It was gathered that an unnamed party offered the money to the INEC staff, supposedly for vote-buying, a long-time threat to credible elections in Nigeria.

ICPC, alongside the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), deployed officers to Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa to monitor off-cycle elections and check electoral fraud, such as vote buying and selling.

Earlier, party agents offered voters financial inducement to vote for their candidates in Lokoja in Saturday’s Kogi governorship poll.

The agents stationed themselves about 500 metres away from polling units, from where they gave money to voters to lure them to vote for their candidates.

The amount given to voters ranged from N3,000 to N5,000, depending on their personality or bargaining power.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.