THE Nigeria Police Force (NPF) said it arrested some political thugs Friday night to curb electoral violence in the Edo State governorship election, being held today, Saturday, September 22.
According to the police, the thugs are 43-year-old Edwin Obanor, and 41-year-old Audu Tajudeen, said to be members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Ugbogbo quarters, Igara Akoko, Edo State.
This was disclosed in a statement released by the police on Saturday, September 21, and signed by Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi.
The NPF said that acting on a tip-off that some people had been armed to cause mayhem during the election, the police operatives swooped into action and apprehended Obanor, a leader of an armed group, at Oredo Ward 4 at about 9 pm and Audu Tajudeen at Igara Akoko, Edo, on the eve of the election.
“Upon searching the bags in their possession, three cut-to-size locally fabricated pistols were discovered on Obanor, while one locally made gun was recovered from Tajudeen.
These arrests are a testament to the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to maintaining law and order and ensuring a peaceful electoral process,” Adejobi said.
The police said working with other sister security agencies, they would not tolerate any form of violence or disorderliness during the election.
The police added that the suspects are currently in custody and would face the full weight of the law.
The Police reassured the public of its dedication to protecting lives and property and, therefore, urged citizens to report suspicious activities to the nearest police station or via their published helplines.
The ICIR reported on Friday that President Bola Tinubu urged all the election stakeholders to conduct themselves peacefully and respect the democratic process.
The President’s call was contained in a statement signed by his special adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
In the statement titled ‘President Tinubu urges peace and civility in Edo State governorship elections.’ the President appealled to the governorship candidates, political parties, and supporters to respect the democratic process and the people’s will.
The President said he believed in the voters’ ability to make informed decisions about their future leaders. He commended INEC for committing to a free and fair process and lauded candidates for focusing on key issues like livelihood improvement and economic growth.
The ICIR reports that 17 political parties are competing for votes in the poll, with three candidates – the PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, All Progressives Congress (APC’s) Monday Okpebholo, and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) – leading the race.
There are approximately 2.63 million registered voters but only 2.25 million of these have collected their permanent voter’s card (PVC), making them eligible to vote, according to data from INEC)
By this, the election in Edo would be determined by only 85.57 per cent of registered voters casting their ballot in 4,519 polling units across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.
A reporter with the ICIR
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