EFCC arrests INEC officials ‘who diverted N84.6m’ during 2019 polls

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has announced the arrest of four officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Sokoto state over alleged diversion of ad hoc staff allowance to the tune of N84.6 million.

Among those arrested are Hassan Aliyu, administrative secretary; Hussain Jafar, head of operations; Abdullahi Abubakar, state accountant; and Abdulmumin Usman.

The arrest followed a petition by one Abdullahi Nasiru, who alleged that the ad hoc staff who worked for INEC during the 2019 presidential and gubernatorial elections in Zamfara were not paid their N6,000 movement allowance.

He alleged that what INEC paid to them was different from what other states gave to their ad hoc workers.

In a statement on Tuesday, Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC spokesman, said: “The INEC allegedly paid its staff in Zamfara N9,000 while in other states like Sokoto, the commission paid N12, 000.

“Investigation by the EFCC revealed that none of the 10,500 presiding officers who participated in the elections were paid their entitlements put at N84, 696,000.”

The anti-graft agency said efforts were being made to recover the money allegedly diverted by the three INEC heads of department and electoral officers of the 14 local governments in Zamfara.