Posted by There was an accusation that the All Progressives Congress (APC) engaged in vote buying during the last governorship race, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State has accused the state police command of refusing to release the results of the inquiry.
This was announced on Monday at a press conference held in Abeokuta by PDP Ogun Chairman Sikirulahi Ogundele.
Ogundele gave Abiodun Alamutu, the Ogun County Commissioner of Police, a 72-hour deadline to release the findings on the ruling party’s alleged vote-buying activities.
Adebutu’s attorney had petitioned the Inspector General of Police in June, claiming that during the governorship election, his opponent had engaged in vote-buying and electoral violence.
In his news conference, Ogundele said that their petition had been submitted under the tenure of the previous IGP, Alkali Baba, but that it had not been resolved during that time.
The party’s chairman stated that the organization has heard from reliable sources that the inquiry has been completed, but that the command is still withholding the results from the public.
He revealed that the opposition party is aware that the APC “is putting unbearable pressure on and also threatening the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu and his officers to allegedly suppress the release and distort the findings of the investigation ordered by the immediate past Inspector General of Police, Baba Alkali, based on the opposition party’s petition dated May 2, 2023.”
He said that the APC employed a company called “One Card Nigeria Limited owned by Mr Tunde Odulaja” to buy votes using prepaid credit cards containing billions of Naira.
He claims that the police investigation was completed, with all necessary witnesses interviewed, but that “yet the police have refused to submit and release the findings and report of the investigation.”
Ogundele, responding to the APC’s appeal filed against the PDP candidate, questioned why the police released the report so quickly “without interrogating or taking testimonies from individuals against whom the APC leveled allegations of vote-buying.
According to the PDP, the Federal Ministry of Justice acted “in the most unprofessional manner and in a clear abuse of its prosecutorial powers with the charging of our governorship candidate, Adebutu and other supporters before the State High Court based on the incomplete and inchoate investigation report when they lacked the power under Section 145(2) of the Electoral Act 2022 to prosecute the electoral offence.”
“We give the Ogun State Commissioner of Police 72 hours to release the report of their investigation; otherwise, we will take action against him,” he said.
Ogun police spokesman Omolola Odutola was contacted for comment and stated she had no knowledge of the accusation.
Not that I’m aware of. I have not been briefed by my superior on this. I’d rather provide my opinion on very horrible crimes or issues that DPOs in far-flung places can report on.
I truly don’t feel qualified to remark on this. She thanked everyone for their patience in a statement.
Tunde Oladunjoye, the Publicity Secretary, responded by calling the allegations made by the PDP baseless.
“Stop wasting their time on a lost battle,” Oladunjoye said to the Ogun PDP and its governorship candidate, “and instead concentrate their energies and resources on defending themselves against the weighty criminal charges hanging over their necks, and to which many of their conspirators have confessed.”