A group in Ogun State, Ogun Integrity Vanguard, has tasked the leadership of all security agencies in the country, particularly, the Nigeria Police Force, to ensure a comprehensive probe of the electoral infractions allegedly perpetrated by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its governorship candidate in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, during the March 18 governorship and state House of Assembly elections in the state.
The group made the call in a statement signed by its secretary, Duro Thomas, and made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Saturday.
Referring to incidences that happened during the polls, the group noted that PDP agents were arrested in Agbado area of the state by officers of the Agbado Division of the Nigeria Police Force with cash, more than 300 PVCs and Verve prepaid ATM cards, with the name, Caroline Oladunni Adebutu Memorial Endowment Scheme written boldly on them, pointing out that the action was a clear contravention of the Electoral Act 2022.
It said, “It was not only the police that arrested agents of the PDP and other parties carrying out such devious acts.
“As amply documented by the spokesman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, operatives of the agency on election stop and search duty intercepted four party agents with hundreds of money credit cards meant to buy votes at Ibara Housing Estate, Abeokuta.
“Each card contained N10,000 and was meant to be activated with a code.
“The suspects, who were PDP agents, were subsequently handed over to the police. It is clear that Adebutu’s bloated image is underpinned by corrupt tendencies.
“If we want this election to be a litmus test for future elections, where Nigerians say no to manipulation and corruption of the electoral space, there is a need for the police, to not only investigate but, to also invite the PDP governorship candidate to explain why he carried out such infractions.”
The group added that a situation where some people believed that they could have their way through manipulation and corruption of the electoral process must stop.
It added, “If the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is sincere, this is the time to prosecute and make some people scapegoats.”
