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Police fault INEC’s report on Rivers rerun poll

By Karls Tsokar, Abuja
23 February 2017   |   4:29 am
The Nigeria Police has faulted the report purportedly released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) indicting the force in the commission’s findings on the irregularities that...

INEC

The Nigeria Police has faulted the report purportedly released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) indicting the force in the commission’s findings on the irregularities that bedevilled the December 10, 2016 rerun poll in Rivers State.

A statement yesterday by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Jimoh Moshood, said the “report as quoted is a disservice to the Nigeria Police Force because all the issues raised were discovered by the Joint Investigative Panel and have been dealt with.

A security source told The Guardian that the report issued by INEC is just to douse the tension already created by the indictment of some officials of the electoral body by the panel of investigation commissioned by the Inspector General of Police after the election.

According to Moshood: “The Nigeria Police Force identified and proactively took action against six (6) police officers who were indicted by the Joint Investigation Panel (JIP) report to have compromised, engaged in serious misconduct, misuse of fire arms, and for other conducts in violation of the electoral act and other enabling laws during the Rivers rerun election.

“They were arrested, investigated and subjected to internal disciplinary measures, after being found guilty were dismissed from the Force and paraded before the media on January 6, 2017 and are awaiting prosecution. Other agencies whose personnel were also indicted by the Joint Investigation Panel are expected to do the same to their personnel indicted in the report without any further delay.

“Twenty three (23) INEC Electoral Officers and two (2) administrative officials, who were indicted by the panel were arrested, investigated and total sum of N111, 300,000 confessed to have been collected from Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike was recovered from them. They were granted bail to the Director of Human Resources, INEC Headquarters Abuja,” Moshood said.

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