Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) stormed polling areas, arresting 20 suspects over alleged vote buying and other electoral offences in the just recently-concluded the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) council elections
In a statement posted on its X handle on Sunday, the anti-graft agency revealed that more than N17 million was recovered during the operation.
“One of the suspects was arrested with a sum of N13,500,000 (Thirteen Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira) in a car parked beside a polling booth in the Kwali Local Government Area,” the statement reads.
“Two of the suspects were arrested in Abaji; nine in Gwagwalada; four in Kuje and the remaining four in Kwali.”
The EFCC confirmed that the suspects will be charged to court once investigations are concluded.
The elections, held across the six area councils of the FCT, recorded low voter turnout and sparked allegations of malpractice, particularly from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), whose candidates suffered defeats in multiple councils.
At the end of the contest, the All Progressives Congress (APC) dominated the polls, clinching five of the six chairmanship seats, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured victory only in Gwagwalada.
