The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced that its operatives arrested six individuals suspected of vote‑trading and other electoral offences during the March 18, 2023 elections in Rivers State. The arrests were carried out at various locations by the Port Harcourt zonal command of the EFCC.
Mrs. Akpos Mezeh‑Ekisowei, Head of Public Affairs for the command, disclosed the arrests while speaking in Port Harcourt. She said the suspects will be arraigned in court as soon as investigations are completed. According to Mezeh‑Ekisowei, the arrests resulted from the intelligence and vigilance of EFCC operatives on the ground during the elections. “Because the EFCC is on the ground to make sure that we stop those who want to sell and buy votes, we had to send our officers into the field to apprehend such persons,” she explained. She added that some of the arrests took place in Port Harcourt and that a total of six people were detained. “The EFCC really worked very hard during the 2023 presidential and governorship elections,” she said.
Mezeh‑Ekisowei also noted that politicians had devised alternative methods of vote‑buying at polling units due to a scarcity of cash. “There were lots of complaints that some people were selling votes, some people were buying votes. We received about one hundred calls, and because the EFCC is on the ground to stop those who want to sell and buy votes, even with the issue of lack of physical cash, we acted,” she said. She described one such method: “They write down their names and telephone numbers, and it was alleged that these persons promised to send money to them.”
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