‘Offenders will be arrested and prosecuted’ — police warn against vote buying, ballot box snatching in Ekiti poll

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) says electoral offences that undermine democracy will not be tolerated during the Ekiti state governorship election. In an X post on Saturday, the police cautioned voters and residents against vote buying, vote selling, and ballot box snatching. The statement highlighted violence, intimidation, destruction of electoral materials, disorderly conduct at polling units, and any other act capable of disrupting the electoral process as election-related offences that attract sanctions. “Electoral offences undermine democracy and will not be tolerated,” the post reads. “The Nigeria Police Force warns against vote buying, vote selling, ballot box snatching, violence, intimidation, and any other act capable of disrupting the electoral process. “Offenders will be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.” On Friday, the police said it has completed the deployment of officers across 2,545 polling units in the state. Shogule Abayomi, commissioner of police in charge of election security, said a multi-layered security architecture had been adopted to guarantee a peaceful, credible, and hitch-free election. Abayomi said that security personnel and operational assets had been strategically positioned across polling units and other designated locations to ensure the safety of voters, electoral officials, election observers, and sensitive electoral materials throughout the exercise.