VOTING at Polling Unit 009, Lugbe 2 Primary School in Abuja, was disrupted when officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) arrested two suspected voter buyers – a man and a woman.
The polling unit has 8,562 registered voters and seven BVAS sub-units. It recorded a crowd of voters before the incident happened.
The disruption caused by the arrest halted accreditation and voting process for a while, leaving many prospective voters waiting on queue despite appeals by presiding officers that the exercise should continue.
Trouble started at about 12:55pm when operatives attempted to whisk away two people suspected of buying votes.
Their arrest sparked tension, as some residents confronted security personnel and demanded the suspects’ release.
The confrontation caused temporary disruption before calm was restored and voting resumed.
The ICIR observed as one of the suspects, who resisted being taken out of the primary school premises, was eventually dragged into the police van.
During the arrest, he was beaten and kicked by several officers attempting to subdue him. In the ensuing confrontation, some women were seen pulling at the suspect and the officers in an attempt to prevent his arrest.
A video by Business Day showed how these individuals, alongside many persons engaged in vote buying at the polling unit before it spiraled into chaos.
A PDP polling agent identified as Timothy told The ICIR that the individuals were not vote buyers but residents who had merely asked for money to buy water.
He described the arrest as a misunderstanding. The polling unit 009, has 8,652 registered voters spread across seven sub-units, each equipped with a BVAS machine.
Although voting commenced around 10 a.m., officials said fewer than 1,000 voters had been accredited as of the time of filing this report.
While the atmosphere has since stabilised, many voters withdrew as INEC officials warned that voting would close by 2:30 p.m.
The ICIR reported that INEC fixed February 21, 2026, for the polls, with over 600 candidates contesting chairmanship, vice chairmanship and councillorship positions.
The election involves 1,680,315 registered voters across 2,822 polling units. To facilitate the process, INEC deployed 3,345 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices.
The exercise is taking place across the FCT’s six area councils and 62 political wards, with 68 elective positions up for grabs.
This organisation reports that the exercise, where the APC, ADC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties are battling to win seats, has also been going on smoothly in Kuje, Gwagwalada and other area councils in the nation’s capital.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M
Zainab Abdulrasaq ia a reporter and a fact-checker with The ICIR. She believes that accountable citizenship starts with an accountable government, which is why she highlights injustice and everyday struggles through her reporting, one story at a time. She adores reading and can be reached via zabdulrasaq@icirnigeria.org and @blackbookishgirl on Instagram/Medium