- Security agencies arrested Shehu Aliyu-Patangi in Kaduna hotel with N25.9m allegedly meant for inducing voters during elections.
- Police said recovered cash believed to be planned bribe funds for compromising the electoral process in Saturday’s by-election.
The Kaduna State Police Command says its operatives, working with the Department of State Services and other security agencies, have arrested a suspected vote buyer ahead of Saturday’s by-elections.
The spokesperson of the command, DSP Mansir Hassan, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday in Kaduna.
He explained that the arrest followed coordinated operations aimed at ensuring a peaceful election free from manipulation by criminal elements.
“Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in conjunction with the Department of State Services (DSS) have successfully apprehended a suspected vote buyer in Kaduna,” Hassan said.
The police spokesperson said the suspect, identified as Shehu Aliyu-Patangi, was arrested around 3:30 am on Saturday at a hotel along Turunku Road in Kaduna metropolis.
He added that officers recovered N25.9m in cash from the suspect during the operation.
According to Hassan, preliminary findings suggested the money was set aside to influence voters and compromise the electoral process.
He stated that the suspect had already confessed during interrogation and appealed for leniency.
The commissioner of police in Kaduna, Muhammad Rabiu, commended the synergy among sister agencies that led to the successful operation.
Rabiu warned that anyone, no matter their position, found attempting to undermine the elections would be made to face the law.
“The Police Command reassures the residents of its commitment to providing maximum security before, during and after the elections,” Hassan added.
“It calls on the good people of Kaduna State to go out and exercise their franchise peacefully and lawfully without fear or intimidation.”