No fewer than 65 persons were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Saturday, March 18, 2023, across the 28 states where governorship and State House of Assembly elections were conducted, for alleged voter inducement. Twenty suspects were apprehended by operatives from the Ilorin Zonal Command, while 13 were nabbed by operatives on election‑monitoring duty at the Kaduna Zonal Command. In the Port Harcourt Zone, teams arrested a total of 12 people for various offences related to offering money to voters, and the Uyo Zonal Command made four arrests in Calabar. The remaining suspects were detained in Gombe, Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger states.
Wilson Uwujaren, Head of Media and Publicity for the EFCC, disclosed the details in a statement obtained by our correspondent. He noted that the 13 suspects arrested in Kaduna comprised ten males and three females, all apprehended by intelligence operatives. One suspect was caught at School Road, Unguwan Rimi, after initially resisting arrest; he remains in custody pending investigation. In the same area, a team led by Esmond Garba arrested Buhari Muhammed in PU 002 Dogara Yaro Dagari, finding voter coupons that he admitted would be used to trace and pay those who voted for his party. Additionally, a team monitoring the voting exercise around LEA Kabala Doki, Kaduna, led by CSE Wakilu Omokide, arrested two individuals suspected of vote‑buying. From them, investigators recovered N67,500, a list containing voters’ names, PVC numbers and bank account details, and other items.
The EFCC spokesperson explained that the suspects’ primary modus operandi involved giving cash, transferring money, distributing coupons and sending recharge cards to eligible voters to induce them to vote for specific candidates. Searches of the suspects and their phones revealed numerous transfers to accounts listed on the recovered documents, as well as voter cards, cash, lists of names and account details, and recharge cards.
In Kaduna, officers also arrested two persons in Niger State for alleged vote‑buying. The first, Umar Ibrahim, was detained at Peter Sarki Road polling unit based on intelligence. A search of his vehicle uncovered an INEC ID tag (domestic election observer) bearing his name and photograph, along with a letter of appointment from BOS (Bago Support Organisation) as Director Liaison. He disclosed that a party member, Usman Mohammed, had provided him with the INEC ID tag. The second suspect, Isa Salihu Bababida, was arrested at Unguwar Nassarawa with several lists of names, account numbers and BVNs.
In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, election‑monitoring teams arrested ten suspects alleged to be involved in voter inducement at locations including Moscow Road, Elekahia, Township, Mile 2, Ward 2 Polling Unit 2 and 30, Ogbum, Phalga. The suspects were found with A4 papers listing names, telephone numbers and account details of prospective voters. Two youths were also detained at Ward 2 Polling Unit 2 and 30, Ogbum, Phalga, for similar offences.
The EFCC team from the Uyo Zonal Command, led by Binta Rano, arrested four persons in Calabar who voluntarily gave statements to the Criminal Investigation Department, Cross River State Police Command. Among them was Esther Edem, the woman leader of a political party for Ward 11, Calabar South, who was found with a list of suspected voters, their account numbers and thousands of Naira in cash inside an unfinished building. The other two, Edet Etim and Asanwana Eyo, were arrested at Ward 12, Unit 11, near Kings Memorial School, carrying their own lists and cash allegedly used for vote‑buying.
Uwujaren listed the 20 suspects arrested by the Ilorin Zonal Command: Adekunle Ademola, Wasiu Raimi, Laaro Rasheed, Alagbe Taiwo, Boniface Victory, Kayode Toba, Adeoye Adetunji, Lawal Favour, Abidoye Moradeyo, Magaji Iliasu, Abdulkadir Abdulmumini, Musa Olasunkanmi, Marudeen Sadiq, Abogunrin Oluwasesan, Funmilayo Lawal, Olawuyi Bolarin, Garuba Ismail, Abiola Abogunrin, Amidu Tiamiyu and Usman Abdulazeez. They were caught at various polling units across the state with incriminating items such as cash, notebooks containing voter lists, POS machines, mobile phones and voter cards. Upon interrogation, some identified themselves as party agents, while others admitted distributing money to induce voters.
Finally, the Gombe Zonal Command, led by Faruk Dogondaji, made ten arrests for alleged voter inducement, recovering 43 wrappers and N1,923,900 in cash. Investigations remain ongoing to determine each suspect’s culpability.
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