MORE than a month after the 2007 polls ended, three persons said to be staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were on Wednesday caught thumb-printing ballot papers meant for the election at Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo Council of Edo State.
It was not clear yesterday, which of the political parties, the trio were thumb-printing the papers for but the chairman of the Action Congress (AC) in Akoko-Edo, Chief Samuel Amove Gomina, pointed accusing fingers at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Divisional Police Officer in Igarra, Lazarus Vani, confirmed the arrests and told The Guardian that the suspects were being moved to the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Benin for further investigation.
The arrest coincided with INEC’s refusal to present certificates of return to four legislators-elect from the PDP and the AC.
A National Commissioner of INEC, Ishmael Jigiri, who presented the certificates to others in the House of Assembly elections for Edo, claimed he forgot them in Abuja.
Those affected were legislators-elect in Oredo East constituency, Akoko-Edo Constituency I and II and Estako Central.
INEC, while announcing Senator Oserhieme Osunbor winner of the governorship election on April 14, said elections in Estako Central and Akoko-Edo Council areas were cancelled.
Two days after, the commission announced that the PDP won the elections in the two councils, and named Segun Saiki and Anslem Agbabi as winners in Akoko-Edo and Chris Umogbai in Etsako Central.
Speaking to The Guardian in Igarra, Vani said the suspects were caught in the act at INEC office, a stone throw from the police station in Igarra.
At Igarra yesterday, officials at the INEC office wore long faces and refused to answer any questions. But sources at the council secretariat, a shouting distance away said the thumb-printing had been going on for days.
The claim was further echoed by Gomina who said he first learnt of the goings-on on Tuesday through a phone call that prompted him to visit the Igarra INEC office. He said on getting there, he saw the suspects thumb-printing the ballot papers. He left to report to the police who, at the time claimed they were on top of the job.
The Igarra Police swooped on the suspects at about 2.00 p.m. on Wednesday, recovering all the ballot papers already thumb-printed.
Gomina alleged that PDP was afraid that they may be exposed at the Election Tribunal, its officials in collaboration with INEC were now trying to make up the ballot papers to tally with the announced results.
Gomina said youths from Igarra accompanied the police team in a bus to ensure that the three suspects were delivered safely to the police headquarters in Benin.
The state CID said yesterday, it was still awaiting the arrival of the suspects at the time of this report.
May252007