By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
No fewer than 16 youths have been arrested and paraded by the Cross River State Police Command, after they were picked by the police for alledgely making attempt to disrupt last Saturday’s electoral process in Obudu Local Government Area in Cross River North senatorial district of the state.
Speaking while parading the suspects at the police headquarters, Diamond Hill, Calabar, on Friday evening, the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Irene Ugbo, averred that suspects were picked by the police after they made attempt to disrupt the electoral process during the Feb 25, 2023 Saturday presidential and National Assembly elections in Obudu, in the North senatorial district of the state.
SP Ugbo said, “The 16 youths you see here were caught with assorted riffles, despite warning by the police authority that people should steer clear from political thuggery, or make attempt to disrupt electoral process.
“As I speak we have concluded arrangements to invite the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,senatorial candidate, Senator Jarigbe Agom, for questioning.”
The PPRO, who though didn’t mention the specific village in the local government area where suspects were arrested, enumerated the dangerous weapons recovered from them to include, live cartridges, charms, locally made pistols and Okwa-made riffles.
Ugbo stressed that the suspected thugs were arrested on Friday, following distressed calls put across to police that ballot boxes had been snatched by hoodlums adding that the development prompted the police to be on the trail of the hoodlums through intelligence information, leading to the arrest of suspects.
But in a swift reaction to these allegations, a 22- year old suspect Mr. Adie James, who stated that he is not a political thug, but a school teacher and youth leader to one of the communities in Obudu Local Government Area in the Northern senatorial district of Cross River State, said that all the allegations levelled against him were false, adding that he is innocent of all the allegations heaped on him.
The suspect claimed innocence, adding that he hasn’t done anything wrong, adding, “The guns you see here lying on the ground are owned by the vigilante group.
“I think the only sin I committed is that, I admitted that I know the first set of boys who were pick by the soldiers and the boys were brought to my place by their captors to find out if I knew them.
“Of course, as a youth leader, I said yes, I know them, because some of them were from the same community with me, unknown to me that saying ‘yes I knew them’ was a big offense that would land me hot soup.”
