EFCC nabs 20 in FCT poll fraud crackdown, seizes N17m in bribes

Abdullateef Fowewe

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) swooped into action during the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) local government elections, arresting 20 suspects on Saturday, February 21, for alleged electoral malfeasance.

In a statement released Sunday, the EFCC detailed the busts across multiple FCT areas, targeting “sundry electoral offences” like vote buying, vote selling, and obstruction of officers.

The raids according to a statement obtained from EFCC on Sunday netted a whopping N17,218,700 in illicit cash.

One dramatic arrest saw a suspect nabbed with N13,500,000 stashed in a car parked beside a polling booth in Kwali Local Government Area.

Breakdown of arrests: two in Abaji, nine in Gwagwalada, four in Kuje, and four in Kwali.

“The suspects were arrested across the FCT, for offences ranging from vote buying, vote selling to obstruction of officers to the tune of N17, 218, 700.00k (Seventeen Million, Two Hundred and Eighteen Thousand, Seven Hundred Naira only),” the EFCC statement read.

The anti-graft agency affirmed its commitment to electoral integrity, “The suspects will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.”