Crime & Court
Guber Polls: ‘Over 65 persons’ arrested for alleged voter inducement
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says no fewer than 65 persons have been arrested for alleged voter inducement during the governorship and state house of assembly elections held on Saturday.
According to the commission, the suspects were nabbed across the 28 states where governorship elections were held.
In a statement on Saturday, EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said 20 of the suspects were arrested by its operatives from the Ilorin Zonal Command, while 13 were nabbed at the Kaduna Zonal Command.
“The teams monitoring the polls in the Port Harcourt Zone arrested a total of 12 people for various offences bordering on inducing voters with money to vote their preferred candidates, while the Uyo Zonal Command made four arrests in Calabar,” the statement read.
“The remaining suspects were arrested in Gombe, Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger states. Those arrested in Kaduna consist of 10 males and three females. They were apprehended by operatives working on intelligence or chanced upon them during the monitoring exercise.”
See the full statement below:
Guber Polls: EFCC Arrests Over 65 Persons for Alleged Voter Inducement
No fewer than 65 persons were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Saturday, March 18, 2023, across the 28 states where Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections were conducted, for alleged voter inducement.
Twenty of the suspects were arrested by operatives from the Ilorin Zonal Command while 13 suspects were nabbed by operatives on election monitoring duty at the Kaduna Zonal Command. The teams monitoring the polls in the Port Harcourt Zone arrested a total of 12 people for various offences bordering on inducing voters with money to vote for their preferred candidates, while the Uyo Zonal Command made 4 arrests in Calabar. The remaining suspects were arrested in Gombe, Sokoto, kebbi and Niger states.
Those arrested in Kaduna consist of 10 males and 3 females. They were apprehended by operatives working on intelligence or chanced upon them during the monitoring exercise.
A suspect allegedly involved in vote buying was nabbed at School Road, Unguwan Rimi Kaduna. The suspect who initially resisted arrest, is however in custody, pending the conclusion of the investigation.
Also in Kaduna, the Tẹam led by ACE II Esmond Garba arrested one Buhari Muhammed in PU 002 Dogara Yaro Dagari area. He was arrested with Voter Coupons, which he confessed would be used to trace and pay those who voted for his party.
Furthermore, the team monitoring the voting exercise around LEA Kabala Doki, Kaduna led by CSE Wakilu Omokide also arrested two individuals suspected of vote buying. Upon their arrest, a total sum of N67,500, a list containing names of voters with their PVC numbers and their bank account details amongst others, were recovered from them.
Investigation so far revealed that the major modus operandi of the suspects is to give cash, transfer money, coupons and send recharge cards to eligible voters to induce them to vote for their candidates. A search of their persons and phones revealed that most of them had transferred money into the accounts of some voters on the lists recovered from them.
Some of the items recovered from the suspects include voter cards, monies, and a list containing names and account details of voters. Others are recharge cards.
Officers of the Kaduna Command also arrested two persons in Niger State for alleged vote buying. The first suspect, Umar.B. Ibrahim was arrested at the Peter Sarki Road polling unit based on intelligence. Upon searching his vehicle, an INEC ID tag (domestic election observer) bearing his name and photograph and also a letter of appointment from BOS ( Bago Support Organisation) as Director Liaison, were uncovered. On further enquiry, he disclosed that a certain Mr Usman Mohammed, who belongs to his political party gave him the INEC ID tag.
The second suspect, Isa Salihu Bababida, was arrested at Unguwar Nassarawa with several lists of names, account numbers and BVN.
In Port Harcourt, the election monitoring teams arrested 10 suspects in Port Harcourt alleged to be involved in voter inducement at Moscow Road, Elekahia, Township, Mile 2, Ward 2 polling Unit 2 and 30, Ogbum, Phalga, Port Harcourt. The suspects were arrested with A4 papers that had the names, telephone and account numbers of persons suspected to be voters. Also, two youths who were alleged to be involved in voter inducement were arrested at Ward 2 Polling Unit 2 and 30, Ogbum, PHALGA, Port Harcourt City.
The four persons arrested at different locations in Calabar by the team from Uyo Zonal Command, led by CE Binta A. Rano, are currently volunteering their statements at the Criminal Investigation Department, Cross River State Police Command.
the team arrested one Esther Asuquo Edem, the Woman Leader of one of the political parties for Ward 11, Calabar South, Cross River State and two others, Edet Okon Etim and Asanwana Peter Eyo, for alleged vote buying in Calabar.
The Woman Leader, who had a list of suspected voters, their account numbers and Thousands of Naira in cash was apprehended inside an uncompleted building, beside her Ward in Calabar South, while Etim and Eyo were arrested at Ward 12, Unit 11, at Kings Memorial School by Inyang Street, Abasi Obori, Calabar South.
The duo of Etim and Eyo had with them their lists and money they allegedly used in buying votes.
The 20 suspects arrested by the Ilorin Zonal Command are Adekunle Ademola, Wasiu Raimi, Laaro Rasheed, Alagbe Taiwo, Boniface Victory, Kayode Toba, Adeoye Adetunji, Lawal Favour, Abidoye Victoria Moradeyo, Magaji Iliasu, Abdulkadir Abdulmumini and Musa Lateef Olasunkanmi.
Others are Marudeen Sadiq, Abogunrin Jimoh Oluwasesan, Funmilayo Lawal, Olawuyi Bolarin, Garuba Ismail, Abiola Abogunrin, Amidu Tiamiyu and Usman Abdulazeez.
The suspects, who were arrested at different polling units across the State, were caught with incriminating items including cash of various sums, a notebook containing a list of voters’ names, a POS machine, mobile phones and voter cards, among others.
Upon interrogation, some of the suspects identified themselves as party agents while some admitted to distributing money to induce voters.
In Gombe, the Gombe Zonal Command led by ACE Faruk M. Dogondaji made 10 arrests for alleged voter inducement, and recovered, 43 pieces of wrappers and N 1, 923,900 cash.
Investigations are still ongoing to determine the culpability of each suspect.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
18/03/2023
Operatives of the Gombe State Police Command have recovered a Toyota Highlander reported stolen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, five years ago.
The vehicle was recovered on June 8, 2026, during a routine verification exercise conducted by detectives attached to the State Intelligence Department in collaboration with officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps at the Gombe State Internal Revenue Service vehicle licensing office.
The spokesperson for the command, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday, saying the vehicle was flagged as suspicious during the process of uploading and verifying vehicle records.
According to him, the joint team identified the Toyota Highlander bearing registration number FH823PHC and subjected it to further scrutiny, which revealed that it had been declared stolen on September 17, 2021.
Preliminary findings showed that the vehicle belonged to one Cecilia A. Duru of Akwaka Lane, Rumuodumaya, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Abdullahi said investigators subsequently uncovered a transnational movement of the vehicle, establishing that it was taken to the Niger Republic in 2023 before returning to Nigeria through Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State on October 17, 2025.
He added that the sport utility vehicle was later sold in Kaduna State and eventually brought to Gombe for re-registration, where it was detected and recovered by security operatives.
“Investigation is ongoing, as efforts are being intensified to identify and apprehend those involved,” the police spokesperson stated.
He urged members of the public to exercise caution when purchasing vehicles, advising intending buyers to verify ownership documents and authenticate vehicle records through the appropriate authorities before concluding any transaction.
The command reaffirmed its commitment to combating vehicle theft and other trans-border crimes, assuring residents that efforts were underway to arrest all those linked to the theft and illegal trafficking of the recovered vehicle.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced two women linked to a slain suspected terrorist kingpin, Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo, to a total of 40 years imprisonment for offences bordering on terrorism and aiding criminal activities.
The convicted women — Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi — who are said to be the mother and sister of the late bandit leader, were handed the sentence on Wednesday by Justice Hauwa Yilwa after they pleaded guilty to parts of a five-count terrorism charge filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Battujo, described by security operatives as a notorious bandit kingpin, was earlier eliminated by security forces on June 10, 2026, during an operation in a forest near Iluke in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
During proceedings, the court heard that the defendants were implicated in aiding and abetting the activities of the deceased, including passing information through telephone communications and concealing aspects of his criminal operations.
According to the prosecution, both women admitted guilt to count two of the charge, which bordered on supporting and facilitating the activities of a known bandit leader in violation of Section 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Halima Abdullahi was further convicted on count four, which involved concealing information regarding illegal firearms allegedly acquired by her brother after she reportedly visited his forest hideout.
Safiya Salihu, on her part, also pleaded guilty to count five, which accused her of withholding information about terrorist activities linked to her son.
Although the charges also included allegations of receiving ₦490,300 suspected to be proceeds of terrorism and sponsorship of pilgrimage using illicit funds, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, urged the court to discount those counts while proceeding with conviction on others.
Justice Yilwa, in her judgment, imposed 20 years imprisonment on each of the counts, but ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, effectively making the total jail term 40 years for each convict.
The court further directed that after serving their jail terms, the convicts should undergo rehabilitation, underscoring the judiciary’s position on balancing punishment with reintegration.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned popular social media influencer and relationship therapist, Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, widely known as Blessing CEO, before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, over an alleged N36m fraud linked to a property transaction.
Blessing CEO was docked before Justice Deinde Dipeolu on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and stealing.
At the resumed proceedings on Thursday, defence counsel, P. I. Nwafor, told the court that the defendant had refunded part of the money allegedly obtained from the complainant.
According to him, the influencer had refunded N24m out of the N36m involved in the matter and was making moves to settle the outstanding balance.
“We have an application to make. The defendant approached the nominal complainant and refunded N24m out of the N36m,” Nwafor said.
“We are asking for a short adjournment to resolve the outstanding balance. The nominal complainant agreed that if the balance is paid, they can prevail on the EFCC to drop the case.”
But prosecuting counsel, Suleiman I. Suleiman, opposed the request, insisting that the anti-graft agency was not part of any settlement discussion between the parties.
“The complainant here is the Federal Government of Nigeria, and we are here for the arraignment. We urge that the defendant take her plea, as that is the business of the day,” he said.
Ruling on the submission, Justice Dipeolu held that any discussion between the defendant and the nominal complainant would not stop the criminal proceedings.
“The defence and the nominal complainant can have discussions even during the pendency of the charge. It does not affect the proceedings before the court. The defendant will take her plea,” the judge ruled.
According to one of the charges, Blessing CEO allegedly obtained N36m from one Mrs Ifeyinwa Nonye Okoye between July 14 and 17, 2024, under the guise of securing for her a six-bedroom detached duplex located at No. 1B, Tunbosun Osobu Street, off Kuboye Road, Lekki, Lagos.
The EFCC alleged that the representation was false and violated Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
The second charge accused the defendant of fraudulently converting the said N36m, property of the complainant, to personal use, contrary to Sections 383 and 390 of the Criminal Code Act.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following her plea, the prosecution urged the court to remand her in a correctional facility and fix a date for trial.
However, the defence counsel informed the court that the defendant had only been served with the charges on May 14, 2026, adding that efforts were ongoing to file her bail application.
He thereafter appealed to the court to allow the defendant remain in EFCC custody pending the perfection of her bail conditions.
Justice Dipeolu granted the request and ordered that Blessing CEO be remanded in EFCC custody.
The case was subsequently adjourned till June 5, 2026, for commencement of trial.
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