The Nigeria
Police Force today displayed a cash haul of N111 million it said was recovered
from officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),
who
were arrested for allegedly receiving bribes to rig the December 10, 2016
Rivers State re-run election in the legislature.
The Police
Investigative Panel led by a Commissioner of Police detailed how Governor
Nyesom Wike gave a sum of N360 million as bribes to about 23 of the electoral
officials, three of whom collected their share from the governor personally at
the State Government House.
Last December,
SaharaReporters revealed an audio tape in which Governor Wike was overheard in
negotiations to bribe some INEC officials. In the audio tape, which he denied,
the governor can be heard arranging with some INEC staff to rig the election
for some key local government areas in the state in favor of the Peoples
Democratic Party.
In another
audio recording made public by SaharaReporters, Wike and the Governor of Ekiti
State, Ayodele Fayose, were also heard making fun of the Nigerian Army while
Wike boasted about how he wreaked havoc during the election.
In the leaked
telephone conversations, the two governors conversed about how Mr. Wike stormed
a collation center during the election. The audio recording revealed that Mr.
Wike’s aim was to manipulate the results of the elections in favor of his
candidates and outmaneuver security agencies involved in ensuring free and fair
elections in the state.
Shortly after
the tapes were released, a panel was set up by the police high command to
conduct a forensic analysis of the audio tapes.
A statement
released by Don Awunah, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and Public Relations
Officer at the police headquarters in Abuja, said that Inspector General of
Police, Ibrahim Idris, had set up the panel and that forensic experts would be
flown in to analyze the leaked audio tapes.
It has been
reported that the police wrote to telecommunication firms for Governor Wike's
call data.
Also in
relation to the electoral malpractice, six policemen were paraded by the police
authorities for their involvement in the scandal. The affected officers were in
the convoy of the Rivers State governor on election day. The officers were said
to have misused the firearms in their possession, contrary to the provisions of
Force Order 237.
Meanwhile, no
report has been released by the Investigative Panel set up by the police, but
the governor has been throwing tantrums. He recently sued the Nigeria Police
Force hoping to stop the inquiry, but the legal team of the police, represented
by Femi Falana, has resisted the attempt.
Saharareporters
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