The police in Akwa Ibom State on Saturday said they had arrested some persons who allegedly hijacked election materials during the rerun election in Essien Udim Local Government area.
A chieftain of People Democratic Party and Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Prince Ukpong Akpabio, had alleged that election materials were recovered from the residence of an APC chieftain.
The materials, according to Akpabio, were meant for six units in Akpautong in the Appeal Court ordered re- run election in Essien Udim council area.
He, however, did not state if they were recovered from the residence of any politician. The police spokesperson said the suspects were being detained at the state Police headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia, Uyo
Akpabio also alleged that INEC ad-hoc staff, including an electoral officer, were caught thumb-printing in the home of the APC chieftain, whose name he declined to mention. His words: “It took the strength of the Nigeria Police to recover the stolen materials in the politician’s house. The ad-hoc staff, including one of the electoral officers assigned to the area, who were abducted with the materials were forced to thumb-print the ballot papers instead of the voters. Those arrested were too many. The police had to call for prison van to ferry them to the state police headquarters.”