Police Nab Senator Uzodinma’s Aide, 3 Others With Result Sheets In Abuja Hotel

JOSEPH ERUNKE

The Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Saturday night, paraded four persons arrested in an Abuja hotel with result sheets of last week’s ward congress in Imo State.

Visible among the suspects was one Engr. Ipanesie Innocent, a Special Assistant to Senator Hope Uzodinma on Electoral Matters.

The suspects, who were paraded at the Force Headquarters by Mr Jimoh Moshood, Force Headquarters’ spokesman, were picked up in a hotel located in Wuse 2 area of the Federal Capital Territory.

The suspects’ name were given as Engr. Ipanesie Innocent, 39 years,from Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State; Kelechi Alfonne, 37 years old, from Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State; Lawrence Archibong, 34 years old, from Akpabuyo Local Government Area of Cross River State and Joseph Martins, 28 years old from Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Items recovered from them, according to Mr Moshood, were 68 pieces of of APC ward congress result sheets, 130 APC ward delegate forms and 6 APC local government result sheets.

Moshood said the suspects were arrested in the early of yesterday in the hotel where they were lodging.

“During the course of interrogating them, they mentioned one Dr Mike Njoku who is the Zonal coordinator of Owerri Municipality to Senator Hope Uzodinma, who is a serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, “Mr Moshood said.

He said:”The suspects were arrested in the early hours of today in a hotel called Faraji Hotel in Wuse 2 area of Abuja.”

According to the Force Headquarters image maker, “They were arrested for being in possession of ward congress materials that belong to Imo State.”

He spoke further:” You are aware that the Ward congress supposed to have been held in Imo State on the 5th of this month but it was shifted because of the fact that this group and their sponsors stole the election materials and hijacked the process to an unknown destination.

“The police have since commenced investigation into the unlawful and criminal act and this is the result that we are having today.

During the course of interrogating them, they mentioned one Dr Njoku who is the Zonal coordinator of Owerri Municipality to Senator Hope Uzodinma, who is a serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“And I equally want to draw you a little bit back to let you know that Engineer Ipanesie Innocent is the SA in Electoral Matters to the same Senator Hope Uzodinma.”

He said the “Nigeria Police Force is fully determined and well prepared for the 2019 general election and our preparation is in three phases-the pre-election period, the elections proper and the post election period. And people should know that we won’t tolerate any act of lawlessness before the election, during the election and after elections. ”

” On this note the police wish to plead with the players to do what they are going to do in conformity with the Electoral Act. Nobody,no matter how highly placed, would be allowed to truncate the process.

“It is consequent upon this that the Inspector General of Police has directed the Commissioners of Police and their supervising Assistant Inspectors-General of Police across the country to ensure that the primaries that are going on in all the political parties are conducted devoid of any violence and equally ensure that any group or individuals that try to truncate the process are immediately apprehended and prosecuted in accordance with the laid down law, “he added.