Security personnel have arrested the Ogun State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Abayomi Tella, alongside other party members and two officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, ahead of the Remo federal constituency by-election.
The arrests were made in Iperu-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, where large sums of money were allegedly found in their possession.
The individuals were seen in a widely circulated video being questioned by a security operative.
In the footage, the INEC officials — a male and a female — along with the PDP officers, are shown squatting on the floor while the interrogation was ongoing.
According to the security operative conducting the questioning, intelligence reports suggested that the INEC officials had been approached and offered a substantial amount of money by PDP representatives in connection with alleged vote buying.
The operative stated that the apprehension of the INEC officials led to the arrest of the party officials at a nearby hotel.
During the interrogation, the male INEC official reportedly admitted that he had been directed by his supervisor to collect the cash from the politicians.
However, in the same video, the state PDP chairman, who identified himself as a “PDP official in Ogun State,” denied any involvement in the incident.
He was heard saying, “You are just showing money; I don’t know anything about it.”
