By Christopher Oji
The Lagos State Police Command said six out of the 19 suspects arrested during last Saturday’s gubernatorial and state House of Assembly elections in Lagos would be prosecuted for alleged electoral offences.
The police also said they recovered a large number of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) dumped by yet-to-be-identified persons in different locations of the state.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benjamin Hundeyin, who paraded the suspects at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) Panti, yesterday, said those arrested were involved in 21 cases which included attacks on INEC officials, vandalism and ballot box snatching.
He said the suspects would also be prosecuted for being in possession of fake INEC identity cards, conducts likely to cause breach of peace, assault occasioning harm and illegal possession of firearms. He said four of the suspects would be prosecuted by the INEC, while two found with arms and involved in other criminal acts would be prosecuted by the police.
Hundeyin said the suspects would be transferred to the Force Headquarters Abuja, where they would be handed over to the INEC centrally while the police would prosecute those whose crimes fall under the police. He said other suspects paraded included two who were allegedly involved in violence at the Abule-Ado, Amuwo-Odofin area of Lagos, and a suspected cultist. Hundeyin also paraded three suspected kidnappers who confessed to have collected about N20.7 million ransom from victims.
Among other suspects paraded were two other suspects arrested for allegedly stealing a truck parked by its driver, which was carrying a brand new car belonging to the United States of American Embassy in Lagos. Hundeyin said the suspects were arrested while trying to sell off the truck with the car at the cost of N5 million.
“The truck will be handed over to the U.S. Embassy, while the suspects will be charged to court,” he said.
He said two suspected robbers using Lagos commercial bus to rob unsuspecting passengers were also paraded. The image maker said the suspects allegedly stole the victims’ phones with a view to using the SIM cards to buy credit or transfer the money in the victims’ accounts. He, therefore, advised members of the public to always lock their Sims as the suspects confessed that they were unable to use any Sim locked. Hundeyin said the suspects would be charged to court at the completion of their investigations.
However, part of the exhibits displayed on the parade ground were over 2,000 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) dumped on some locations by yet-to-be-identified persons, unlawful possession of PVC/sensitive electoral materials, two ballot boxes, one Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine, ballot papers and firearms.