Thirty suspected election offenders have been arrested by operatives of the Ogun state police command for allegedly engaging in electoral violence and vote buying during the just concluded governorship and state assembly elections in the state.
The commissioner of police, Frank Mba, disclosed this to newsmen Thursday, during a visit to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
Mba said, the suspects were arrested in different parts of the state for unlawful possession of firearms, inducement and vote buying, among other offences
Recovered from the suspects, according to Mba, includes 12 fire arms, including an English made beretta pistol, 25 live cartridges and eight expended cartridges.
The police boss added that, 235 credit cards and customized ATM cards were also recovered from the suspects engaging in vote buying.
“A total of 30 persons were arrested, they were arrested for various offenses, ranging from unlawful possession of weapons to disorderly behaviour around polling units, conducts likely to cause breach of peace and also for offenses relating to insertion of undue influence and attempt to indulge in vote buying.
“We also recovered a total of 12 fire arms of different mix and shapes, most of them are locally fabricated short guns. We also recovered one beretta pistol, an English made pistol. We recovered a total of 25 live cartridges and eight expended cartridges.
“We also have with us a total of 235 credit cards or ATM cards which are very customised ATM and credit cards.
“Investigations are ongoing and like we did promised on the day of the election, we will continue to keep citizens updated as we make progress with these cases, but you can trust us that we will certainly and surely do a good job.
“We believe that will be done very soon, you know under the new rules, prosecution is handled by INEC, so at the right time, under the right directives from the office of the Inspector General of Police, these cases will naturally be transfered to INEC and we will work together with them, support them and ensure that these cases are diligently prosecuted”, Mba said
The commissioner however, assured that the suspects would be handed over to INEC for proper prosecution after conclusion of investigation to determine level of complicity and culpability.
