The Police Command in Cross River displayed 16 individuals on Saturday who had been detained for a variety of suspected electoral offenses in the state's Ogoja Local Government Area, according to the Guardian News.
The suspects were apprehended in Ogoja after the elections with weapons and ammunition, according to the spokesman for the command, SP Irene Ugbo, who spoke to reporters while parading the suspects.
Their arrest, according to Ugbo, came after a thorough manhunt for individuals responsible for the disruption of various polling places in the council area.
You may remember that the command previously issued various warnings to the populace, advising them not to let themselves be exploited by frantic politicians before the elections and that anybody found out would be held responsible.
These individuals, some of whom attempted to obstruct the polls in Ogoja last Saturday, did not heed our warning and are visible here.
They will be punished in accordance with the law of the land since they were found in Ogoja with a variety of weapons and ammunition.
The suspects were allegedly discovered to have worked for a candidate during the polls on Saturday, according to the command spokeswoman.
Drama, according to NAN, broke out during the march when some of the suspects claimed to be All Progressives Congress (APC) members and vigilantes in the Obudu Local Government Area.
Moreover, they claimed that they were never detained in Ogoja but rather in Obudu without being aware of the crime they had committed.
One of the accused, Mr. Francis Ubi, who claimed to be an APC coordinator at his Obudu voting location, described how the troops in Obudu randomly selected them the day before the presidential and national assembly elections.
We were hauled here on trumped-up charges, he claimed. I coordinate my voting unit in Obudu and do not belong to any other organization or political party. While I talk with you, almost N500,000 has been deposited into my account for the purpose of helping me manage my unit during the elections; also, I am a vigilante. Five more members of my group are there and were also detained.
"While I was detained in my Obudu home, others who were in uniform at checkpoints in Obudu were detained." The council chairman, who also authorized the use of particular guns for us, gave his approval for us to maintain security in the area where they were detained.
"I have no idea what is going on." I don't know any of the people in the parade with us, and I only came over to talk to them now that we're passing by. Due to the level of insecurity there recently, we (Vigilante) have been the ones keeping Obudu safe. We are unaware of the charges against us.
After being detained, Ubi said that he was moved to an army base in Ogoja, where he remained for many days until being hauled to the Police Command in Calabar on Friday.
The accused will be presented in court the following week, according to Ugbo.
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