The FCT Police Command, Tuesday arrested five persons conveying over 100, 000 ballot papers for Saturday, April 16, 2011, presidential polls to an unknown destination.
The vehicle, a bus with the inscription of the National Labour Congress (NLC), was intercepted by police officers attached to the Utako Police Division on a Stop and Search duty.
On inspection of the bus it was found to contain ballot papers for presidential polls and was then impounded and taken to the police division where it was later taken to the FCT Police Command for further investigation.
Police sources told Vanguard that the said ballot papers which were labeled, “tendered ballot papers”, were allegedly procured by a top politician of North-Western extraction with a view to circulating them during the polls and possibly using them to cause the nullification of the polls in the region.
However, when contacted, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) for Utako division, Chief Superintendent of Police, (CSP) Usman Umar, who confirmed the arrest of the persons in the early hours of yesterday, disclosed that occupants of the bus who claimed to be officers of an undisclosed firm had produced papers indicating they were taking their cargo to INEC headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, his officers were suspicious on seeing the packages labeled, “2011 Tendered Presidential Elections Ballot papers,” since they had not been notified of any such movement of electoral materials, more so that they were not accompanied by security operatives.
“Because of its high profile nature, I immediately contacted my superiors and moved the consignment and the suspects to the Command headquarters where the matter is being handled presently. Two persons including the driver of the bus were involved. The suspects said they were only contracted to transport the items and that they did not know who owns it
The vehicle, a bus with the inscription of the National Labour Congress (NLC), was intercepted by police officers attached to the Utako Police Division on a Stop and Search duty.
On inspection of the bus it was found to contain ballot papers for presidential polls and was then impounded and taken to the police division where it was later taken to the FCT Police Command for further investigation.
Police sources told Vanguard that the said ballot papers which were labeled, “tendered ballot papers”, were allegedly procured by a top politician of North-Western extraction with a view to circulating them during the polls and possibly using them to cause the nullification of the polls in the region.
However, when contacted, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) for Utako division, Chief Superintendent of Police, (CSP) Usman Umar, who confirmed the arrest of the persons in the early hours of yesterday, disclosed that occupants of the bus who claimed to be officers of an undisclosed firm had produced papers indicating they were taking their cargo to INEC headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, his officers were suspicious on seeing the packages labeled, “2011 Tendered Presidential Elections Ballot papers,” since they had not been notified of any such movement of electoral materials, more so that they were not accompanied by security operatives.
“Because of its high profile nature, I immediately contacted my superiors and moved the consignment and the suspects to the Command headquarters where the matter is being handled presently. Two persons including the driver of the bus were involved. The suspects said they were only contracted to transport the items and that they did not know who owns it
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