By Our Correspondent
Security operatives in Ogun State have arrested two members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and two staffers of the d Independent National Electoral Commission (|NEC) in Iperu Remo, with huge sums of cash allegedly meant for rigging the by-election into the Remo Federal Constituency House of Representatives.
The arrest, which took place at a hotel in Iperu-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area on Saturday, has stirred widespread reactions after a video of the suspects being interrogated surfaced on social media.
In the viral footage, the INEC staff, a man who identified himself simply as Constance and a woman who identified herself as Amina, claimed to have been sent by their supervisor to collect the money from a certain PDP politician in the area.
According to the interrogator in the video, intelligence reports suggested that the INEC officials had earlier received a large sum of money from political actors to influence the outcome of the bye-election.
The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of Nigeria’s electoral process, where allegations of vote-buying and the involvement of security agencies have long raised concerns about transparency and credibility. Observers note that Ogun, like many states, has witnessed recurring disputes over electoral malpractice, with political parties often trading blame during tightly contested polls.
The by-election in Iperu-Remo is considered a test for both INEC and security agencies in demonstrating their commitment to free and fair elections, especially as the credibility of the process remains a subject of national debate.
