The suspects, including a male and female INEC staff, were reportedly picked up at a hotel in Iperu-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of the state, after intelligence linked them to a vote-buying syndicate.
Security operatives in Ogun State have arrested some persons suspected to be officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) alongside a politician allegedly plotting to buy votes in Saturday’s by-election.
The suspects, including a male and female INEC staff, were reportedly picked up at a hotel in Iperu-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of the state, after intelligence linked them to a vote-buying syndicate.
In a video circulating on social media, the supposed INEC officials and some alleged PDP operatives were seen squatting on the floor while being interrogated by a security operative.
The interrogator claimed intelligence reports showed that the electoral officers had earlier been contacted and given a large sum of money by party officials to compromise the election process.
SaharaReporters had reported how tensions gripped Kaduna area after unidentified officials allegedly stormed a hotel where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ad-hoc staff kept sensitive election materials ahead of the polls, seizing both the materials and the official INEC van before driving them to an undisclosed location.
WATCH: Security Operatives Arrest INEC Officials, Politician With Cash For Vote-Buying In Ogun Bye-Election pic.twitter.com/S5GjE9MzTv
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) August 16, 2025
Eyewitnesses had alleged that the men, who claimed to be operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police, stormed the premises late Friday and forcefully took away the van containing ballot papers and funds meant for disbursement to party agents at polling units.
A woman who raised the alarm in a video obtained by SaharaReporters on Saturday noted that the attackers might have been sponsored by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State.
“They forcefully towed the vehicle, saying it contained valuables and that they had information ballot papers were kept there,” she said.
“Now they’ve taken the vehicle to an unknown location. Only God knows what they’ve gone to do with the materials inside, including the funds for our agents. This is the height of desperation. They want to stop at nothing to rig this election.”
According to her, the suspicious officials later returned the van under unclear circumstances, raising fears that the vehicle or the ballot materials might have been tampered with.
“They brought back the vehicle, but who knows what they have planted in it? Maybe to accuse us of manipulation, maybe to compromise the materials. Nobody knows. This is the height of their desperation,” she added, visibly agitated.
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