An Accord Partymember of the Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Abiola Ibrahim, representing Irewole-Isokan Constituency, has allegedly confessed to importing 146 voters into Ikire to vote for his party in the ongoing governorship election.
According to a preliminary statement reportedly made by the lawmaker to the Osun State Police Command, the 146 persons were brought into Ikire, in Irewole Local Government Area, to vote for the Accord Party.
Ibrahim and the 146 suspected voters were arrested by the police and subsequently handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
The circumstances surrounding the alleged movement of the voters and their intended polling units were not immediately clear.
The suspects are expected to assist the police in their investigation into the alleged electoral offence.
Also Read: Osun election: Police detain 33 unknown voters in Ede
The arrest was made on Friday night during a police operation at the lawmaker’s residence in Ikire where more than 200 Permanent Voter Cards were reportedly recovered during the operation.
In a video clip, Ibrahim was seen making a preliminary statement identifying himself and allegedly confessing to facilitating the movement of the suspects into Osun from neighbouring states for the purpose of voting in the election.
In a separate operation at Babs Hotel, behind the State High Court in Ede, the police’s Anti-Robbery Section and Violent Crime Response Unit arrested 33 more suspected electoral mercenaries (30 males, 3 females), allegedly brought in from Ondo State by a yet-to-be-identified politician who procured voters’ cards for them and promised financial rewards. Four voters’ cards were recovered from them as exhibits.
Crediblenewsng.com
