By Kolade Larewaju
MEN of the Nigerian Army Tuesday arrested a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Solomon Soyelu, and seven suspected thugs for allegedly disrupting voting process in Ode-Remo, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Several other persons said to be members of the PDP and Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) were also arrested for various other offences including ballot box snatching during the elections which had the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in a clear early lead.
An early morning crisis in Ijebu-Igbo during which one member of the ACN was kidnapped was quickly brought under control by security agents with accreditation and voting starting immediately after.
Turn out during the elections was massive as various polling units across the state were full with people signaling that more people took part in the exercise more than in the two previous elections.
Vanguard learnt that the suspects arrested along with Soyelu claimed to be working for a PDP candidate contesting in the rescheduled House of Representatives elections and that they claimed to have come from Ikorodu in Lagos State while terrorizing eligible voters at AUD Ward 9, Ode-Remo.
The accreditation of voters had barely started when some armed thugs stormed the polling booth and started upturning everything in sight, including electoral materials which made people to scamper to safety.
Residents were said to have alerted soldiers who were nearby monitoring the elections and on sighting the military men, the hoodlums attempted to escape from the scene before they were arrested and handed over to the men of the Nigeria Police, Sagamu division.
An informed police source in confirming the arrest said “the thugs disrupted electoral process to the extent that we suspect INEC would cancel elections there. During interrogation, Chief Soyelu confessed that they were working for Ladi Adebutu contesting Remo Federal Constituency. But the thugs and Soyelu have been detained at Sagamu Police Station.”
He gave the names of the suspected thugs as Toheeb Balogun, Wasiu Ademola, Femi Akeju, Tunde Adeleke, Dare Bakare, Gbenga Jimoh and one Ladejobi while the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olayinka Balogun, confirmed the arrest of the suspects during a telephone interview with newsmen.
He said “yes, we have arrested some people who attempted to disrupt electoral process in that area. They have brought them to our command and investigation is ongoing. But I can confirm to you that the arrests were made”.
Early results from polling units across the state indicate an early lead for the ACN from results coming in from the polling stations indicating that while Chief Olusegun Osoba and Senator Ibikunle Amosun were winning their booths and wards, Governor Olugbenga Daniel not only lost in his booth but also his ward.
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