Tag: Vote-Buying

FCT Elections: Civil society group alleges widespread vote-buying

Aminu Imam
CSOs on FCT Elections

…Alleges ₦10,000 traded per vote The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has alleged that votes were traded for as much as ₦10,000 during Saturday’s 2026 Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections. Speaking to newsmen in Abuja, co-convener Celestine Odo said that although the elections were largely peaceful, observers recorded widespread vote buying and delays in the start of voting across several polling units. According to him, reports from observers indicated open vote trading in parts of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), particularly at polling units in Gidan Mangoro Ward, where…

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2027: “I’ll stop rigging, vote-buying; you can quote me” – Amupitan vows

Aminu Imam
Amupitan vows

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, on Tuesday, expressed his resolve “to combat all forms of election rigging, including the menace of vote-buying”. This, he said, had become non-negotiable because “the eyes of the nation are upon us. The public trust placed in INEC is sacred”. Amupitan, who took the reins of leadership in INEC in October, gave the commitment while swearing in  Prof. Adeniran Tella as the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Oyo State. The ceremony, held at the Commission’s headquarters, marked Tella’s redeployment…

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Anambra Poll: Voting peaceful, amid vote-buying arrests

Aminu Imam
Anambra Poll

…INEC uploads 99% of results Residents of Anambra State turned out yesterday to vote in the 2025 governorship election, with reports indicating largely peaceful conduct across the 21 local government areas. Accreditation and voting commenced around 8 a.m. in most polling units, with minor BVAS hitches reported. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said 2,802,790 registered voters were expected to participate across 5,718 polling units. By 9:12 p.m., INEC had uploaded 98.99% of results on its Result Viewing Portal (IReV), covering 5,662 of the 5,720 polling units. The swift upload…

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EFCC arraigns Kaduna PDP Reps. candidate, 1 other for ₦26m money-laundering, vote-buying, in Abuja

Aminu Imam
EFCC arraigns PDP

The Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, arraigned one Esther Ashivelli Dawaki and Shehu Aliyu Fatange before Justice Emeka Nwite, of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja for financial crimes. Ms. Dawaki was the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) House of Representatives candidate for Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency in Kaduna state during the by-election held in August. The opposition party had earlier accused security operatives of ‘abducting’ Ms. Dawaki. According to the Commission, Dawaki and Fatange are facing prosecution on a…

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By-election: Suspected vote buyer arrested with ₦25.9m cash in Kaduna

Aminu Imam
Kaduna vote buyer

The Police Command in Kaduna State said its operatives, in collaboration with those of the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies, have nabbed a suspected vote buyer ahead of yesterday’s by-elections and recovered ₦25.9million cash. The Command’s spokesperson, DSP Mansir Hassan, who confirmed the arrest in a statement issued yesterday in Kaduna,  said that the fear was a sequel to sustained and collaborative efforts by the security agencies to ensure that the by-elections in Kaduna State are conducted peacefully and without interference from criminal elements. He said…

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2023: One-year jail term, N500, 000 fine awaits vote buyers INEC

Aminu Imam

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that one-year imprisonment, or a fine of N500, 000, awaits anyone found guilty of buying votes during the 2023 elections. The INEC Commissioner in Jigawa State, Professor Muhammad Lawal Bashar, who read the Riot Act in an interview with newsmen, said the electoral commission is prepared to conduct all the elections with the BVAS machine to ensure free and fair elections. According to him, the machine will identify voters going to vote, and those who have…

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2023: Police vow to deploy X-squad, intelligence officers, others to arrest vote buyers

Aminu Imam

The Nigeria Police Force have revealed that it will deploy X-squad, intelligence officers and investigators during the 2023 general election, to ensure that politicians moving on election days with tonnes of physical cash for vote-buying are apprehended and dealt with according to the provisions of the law. Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba, gave the warning at a one-day stakeholders summit on addressing the influence of money in the forthcoming 2023 general election, which was held in Abuja yesterday. Represented by Assistant Inspector-General (AIG), Bala Ciroma, the IGP also…

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Ondo 2020: Massive vote-buying, breach of COVID-19 protocol characterizes election, say CDD, YIAGA Africa

Ishaku Yohanna

Two Civil Society Organisations, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and YIAGA Africa, have said the Ondo State governorship election was marred with vote-buying and inadequate compliance with COVID-19 protocol. In its preliminary statement on the conduct of the election, the CDD noted that there was a consistent pattern of vote-buying, where those engaged in the act adopted tactics to induce voters, while evading the watch of security officials and election observers. CDD observers documented attempts by political actors to outspend one another by making available large sums disbursed to…

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