Osun: Police Declare War On Vote-Buyers, Deploy Detectives

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Post created on 1:15 pm

 

Ahead of the Saturday governorship election in Osun State, the police and other security agencies, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, have declared war on vote-buyers and mapped out strategies to checkmate their activities.

To curb the malpractices during the poll, the security agencies have deployed detectives, including undercover operatives, to monitor the election and apprehend vote-buyers.

The deployment of police personnel will also be complemented by soldiers, the Civil Defence Corps, and the Amotekun Corps.

Vote-buying has been a blot on the integrity of recent elections in the country as voters are heavily induced by agents of political parties at the polling booths to skew the outcome of the polls in favour of the highest spender.

It was gathered that the security agencies had mapped out elaborate strategies aimed at preventing a repeat of the vote-buying incidents recorded during the Ekiti governorship poll as well as other elections in the recent past.

The EFCC had arrested some suspects, including party agents, for allegedly engaging in vote-buying during the June 18 governorship election in Ekiti.

Some of them were also said to have been caught with bags of money with a book containing details of voters of certain voting areas at a private residence.

Similarly, during the Peoples Democratic Party presidential primary held at Eagle Square, Abuja, there were widespread incidents of vote-buying by aspirants despite the presence of law enforcement officers.

But a team of EFCC operatives that monitored the convention failed to apprehend suspects.

However the EFCC, which would also monitor the Osun poll on Saturday, has said it would give no room for vote-buyers to operate.

Explaining the police strategy against vote-buying, the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, on Tuesday, said that the force would not take it lightly with anyone caught engaging in electoral malpractices during the Osun poll.

He explained that the police would deploy the Federal Intelligence Bureau, Tactical Corps and the Special Forces to curb the incidents of vote-buying.

According to the Nigeria Police Force website, www.npf.gov.ng, the Federal Intelligence Bureau is the apex of intelligence gathering in the Force. It is the only arm of the Force that provides intelligence on crime and national security.

On her part, the Osun Police Command Public Relations Officer, Yemisi Opalola, added that there were strategies in place to forestall vote-buying during the poll.

She said, “We will not allow it to happen. We will do whatever is within our power to prevent it. Vote-buying and selling would not be allowed. We have emplaced a lot of security measures and strategies. We have been sensitising people against vote-buying because without a seller, there won’t be a buyer.