EFCC Arrests 20 for Vote Buying, Recovers N17m During FCT Elections
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has apprehended 20 individuals suspected of electoral malpractice. The arrests took place during the area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory on Saturday.
The anti-graft agency announced the arrests in a statement posted on its X handle on Sunday. During the operations across various polling units, operatives recovered more than 17 million naira from the suspects. The agency noted that the individuals were heavily involved in both vote buying and vote selling.
A significant portion of the recovered funds was found with a single individual. The EFCC provided specific details regarding this major bust in their public statement.
“One of the suspects was arrested with a sum of N13,500,000 (Thirteen Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira) in a car parked beside a polling booth in the Kwali Local Government Area,” the agency stated.
The commission also gave a breakdown of where the other arrests occurred within the territory. The operatives spread their dragnet across different local government areas to catch the offenders as the voting process went on.
“Two of the suspects were arrested in Abaji; nine in Gwagwalada; four in Kuje and the remaining four in Kwali,” the statement read.
All the arrested individuals are currently under investigation. The EFCC assured the public that the suspects will face formal charges in court once the inquiries are concluded.
The arrests add to the controversies surrounding the weekend polls. The elections recorded a generally low voter turnout across the territory.
The African Democratic Congress also raised complaints about the entire process. The party alleged widespread electoral malpractice after its candidates failed to secure victories in several areas.
At the end of the exercise, the ruling All Progressives Congress secured a dominant victory. The party won five of the six available chairmanship positions. The Peoples Democratic Party managed to win the remaining single seat in the Gwagwalada area council.
