Edo guber: EFCC arrests suspected vote buyers in Egor LGA

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested some suspects for alleged vote buying in the ongoing Edo governorship election.

EFCC and police operatives could be seen apprehending three suspects at a polling unit in the LGA, before dragging them away and out of sight.

The suspects consisted of two males and a female.

Handing out money to voters, or inducing electorates to cast ballots in a certain direction, have become commonplace across Nigeria during elections.

Ahead of the Edo election, Yiaga Africa, a civil society organisation (CSO), had alerted that politicians may resort to violence and vote buying during the poll.

Egor was one of the eight LGAs identified as a hotspot.

Others included Ovia south-west, Ovia north-east, Oredo, Ikpoba Okha, Etsako west, Etsako east, and Esan south-east.

Yiaga harped on the need to address vote buying through decisive actions, including the arrest and prosecution of alleged buyers and sellers.

The CSO said it observed a “volatile political climate” for the election, adding that strong-arm tactics and violence marred the campaigns.

Seventeen candidates are battling for over 2.2 million votes across the 18 LGAs of Edo.