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

An Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official who was found in possession of a large sum of money during Saturday’s governorship election in Imo State has been placed under arrest by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission.

While keeping an eye on the polling process at Polling Unit 005, Township Primary School, Ikenegbu 1, in the Owerri Municipal Local Government Area, the anti-corruption agency apprehended the INEC official.

According to rumors, an undisclosed party gave the money to INEC employees with the intention of purchasing votes, a practice that has long threatened the integrity of Nigerian elections.

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

In the lead-up to this Saturday’s Kogi governorship election, party agents had already offered voters money incentives to support their candidates in Lokoja.

The agents set up shop 500 meters away from the voting places, where they enticed voters to cast ballots for their preferred candidates by offering them money.

Voters received between N3,000 and N5,000, depending on their negotiating position or disposition.