IGP accused of suppressing vote buying, electoral violence investigation against APC Governor

IGP accused of suppressing vote buying investigation against APC Governor

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Honourable Ladi Adebutu, has faulted the role being played by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, in the ongoing investigation of alleged vote buying and electoral violence against the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the March 18 governorship election.

The Ogun PDP gubernatorial candidate, who accused the IGP of covering up the investigation, said his party wrote a petition to the IGP six weeks ago, asking for a thorough investigation into the cases of vote buying, electoral violence and voters intimidation that allegedly marred the election.

He said instead of acting decisively after receiving the petition, the police boss has since been frustrating every move aimed at delivering justice through it.

Speaking through the Media Director of his campaign organisation, Afolabi Orekoya in Abeokuta on Wednesday, Adebutu further accused the police of being used by both Abiodun and the APC to subvert justice by intimidating and harassing him.

He accused Abiodun and the APC of using N3billion to induce voters and thugs to disrupt elections in several parts of the state.

He said: “We have petitioned the Nigerian Police for the past six weeks. But we are surprised why the police have not opened up an investigation into our petition against Abiodun and the APC on the votes bought by them.

“It is everywhere in the media that Governor Dapo Abiodun induced voters. This is why they are covering up all the shenanigans and they have not allowed the police to do their job.

“We are calling on the IGP to please in the interest of the good people of Ogun State allow this petition to see the light of the day. They should not cover it up. They should not suppress it.

“We know all the moves the governor have been making to ensure that all these investigations are not being carried out.

“We are appealing to the IGP to speedily allow thorough investigation into how Abiodun used about N3bn to buy votes with the help of One Card limited,” he said.

Reacting to the suit against him at the High Court over alleged voting buying, Adebutu insisted that he was neither invited by the police nor served of any court document regarding the suit.

He described the suit as an abuse of court process and a plot by Abiodun and the APC to distract the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal from doing its job.

He debunked the report that he travelled out of the country to evade police arrest, saying he travelled on 25th April for usual medical route check-up after the election.

“We are just seeing it also in the media and I will just want to make some points clear, Adebutu has not been served with any court document as regards any charges expect for the media trial that we are seeing all around to mislead the public and the tribunal.

“They (APC and Abiodun) are only trying to distract people and distract the judiciary from giving proper attention to the merit of the petition before them.

“They should allow the tribunal to do their job. This is an abuse of court process, they should allow the tribunal do their job and at the end of the day we will know who actually perpetrated vote buying or not.”