Soldiers on election duty in Kogi State’s Igalamela local government area caught and detained the council chairman and many APC supporters early Saturday morning for possessing weaponry and large sums of money.
The military seized millions of naira in cash as well as a big stash of munitions.
This comes as Kogi residents head to the polls to elect the state’s next governor.
The money was packed in multiple ‘Ghana-must-go’ bags, as was the ammo.
The cash and ammo were reportedly intended to be used during the election.
The accused are seen seated on the floor near an army roadblock in a video that has since gone viral.
In the video, the council chairman and his gang were shown apologising and appealing for forgiveness, but the troops refused to listen to their plea.
They allegedly admitted that the money was intended for distribution to voters at various polling stations around the local government area and Idah region during the gubernatorial race.
News About Nigeria reliably gathered that Governor Yahaya Bello and his officials were making efforts to secure their release, with sources saying that efforts were being made to move the suspects to the state capital, but military authorities insisted that the suspects be held with the recovered items until after the election.
Concern was expressed by YIAGA Africa, a civil society group, during the state’s current election after it was found that polling place results in Kogi had been falsified even before the voting process had started.
Polling Unit 004, Eni Ward, Ogori/Mangogo, Kogi State, was said to have produced the faked results.
