Four vote-buyers have been apprehended during last Saturday’s governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections in Sokoto and Katsina states.
The arrest was effected by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The operatives encountered some vote-buyers at Kauran Miyo Primary School in Bodingo Town of Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto State while monitoring the March 18 elections across the country.
This development was conveyed in a statement issued by the spokesperson for the ICPC, Azuka Ogugua on Saturday night.
According to Ogugua, the Sokoto State monitoring team of the commission arrested three male vote-buyers.
The suspects include Mahe Bello, Musa Adamu and Mustapha Mohammed, all of Kauran Miyo Bodinga.
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Ogugua said, “Mahe Bello was caught in possession of a cash sum of N38,000, two PVCs, one ATM card and an Infinix phone, while Musa Adamu had CFA228,000 in his possession which was being offered to voters. The third suspect, Mustapha Mohammed, was arrested with some PVCs in his possession.”
According to her, the ICPC monitoring team, however, came under attack while carrying out the arrest of the three vote-buyers.
She told newsmen that an officer of the commission, Rabiu Ibrahim, suffered a head injury from being hit by stones.
He said the operative has been admitted into a hospital and he is in a stable condition.
In a related development, the ICPC election monitoring team in Katsina State arrested one Tanimu Tabale for vote-buying at Tashar Yamma Polling Unit in Zango Local Government Area of the State.
Tabale, a 35-year-old man, claimed he was an observer in Makama Polling Unit but was arrested at Tashar Yamma Polling Unit with the sum of N20,000 in different denominations attempting to buy the votes of the electorate.