Ekiti election: NSCDC disperse suspected vote buyers in Ado-Eiti

Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have dispersed a group of residents allegedly being bribed at Mobil filling station, opposite St. Michael’s School in Ajilosun area of Ado-Ekiti.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who monitored voting across the state, observed a large crowd being dispersed by a team of NSCDC operatives, led by acting Deputy Commandant, Haruna Muhammed.

Mr Musa Faruk, a resident of the area, said that some suspected political agents had been distributing between N10,000 and N12,000 to the voters who agreed to vote for their preferred governorship candidate.

He explained that at polling units one and two of ward four at St. Michael Nursery and Primary School, the agents would have observed who voters had voted for before giving them the money.

Another voter, Veronica Famigun, who was in the midst of the crowd, said that vote-buying had been ongoing for hours, expressing happiness over the way in which those engaging in the act were dispersed by NSCDC operatives.

She stressed the need for security agents to also beam their searchlight on other polling units across the state where such acts might also be perpetrated.

Speaking on the development, Muhammed frowned at the menace of vote-buying by political agents, saying that his men had no choice but to disperse those engaging in the practice.

He said that it was important for citizens to understand that elections should be free and fair.

The NSCDC chief advised parents to restrain their wards and keep them indoor as anybody caught in the act of vote-buying would be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.

NAN, however, reports that nobody was arrested at the scene, as the suspected perpetrators immediately took to their heels.

NAN also reports that more security personnel had been drafted to the location to prevent re-occurrence.