An officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) contracted by Rotimi Amaechi, Nigeria’s minister for Transport to help the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the Rivers rerun election of Saturday, March 19, 2016 has been arrested by detectives of the Nigeria Police Force.
The officer, Mrs. Ekwi Adebisa (pictured), was apprehended with three fake results after vigilant voters raised an alarm at the collation centre of Ward 10, Port Harcourt Local Government Area where she was presiding.
When the voters sighted her with fake result sheets and she was trying to switch the original with the fake to announce the falsified results, the voters raised alarm and prevented her from changing the result sheets.
Soon after, Rotimi Amaechi stormed the collation centre with over 100 soldiers and abducted Mrs. Adebisa from the collation centre at Ward 10 in Port Harcourt. Her abduction suspended the collation of results at the Ward.
According to an inside source who spoke with The Trent, the INEC officer was taken to Novotel Hotel where Amaechi and Dakuku Peterside, the director general of NIMASA, and Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, the managing director of the NDDC were lodged and the plot to doctor the election results for the Ward was perfected.
But, unfortunately for Amaechi, the voters had lodged a complaint with the police over the matter and the police trailed the INEC officer to Novotel Hotel where she was arrested by the Nigerian Police and taken to Mile 1 Police Station in Port Harcourt.
According to citizen reporters at the ward, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mrs. Blessing Asiegbe for the House of Representatives seat had won the election overwhelmingly. However, Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers State and chieftain of the APC swore to steal her victory by all means because of a long-standing standoff with her late husband. Mr. Asiegbu.
Mrs. Asiegbu has openly accused Rotimi Amaechi of killing her late husband during his tenure as governor of Rivers leading to a bitter rivalry between she and Amaechi.
Leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) including the Governor, Nyesom Wike got wind of the arrest of the compromised INEC officer and visited the police station for explanations.
Immediately, Governor Wike and PDP leaders arrived at the police station, more than 400 soldiers stormed the station in the company of the minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Dakuku Peterside, and Ibim Semenitari and ordered the police to release Mrs. Ekwi Adebisa to them.
The police resisted the order and Mrs. Adebisa, now a suspect of electoral fraud, has been transferred to the Force CID Headquarters of Rivers State for further investigation.
