Edo State Command has reacted to an online report that, the Edo State INEC Residential Electoral Commissioner was arrested on Thursday, 28th July, 2022 by operatives of the command.
The command wishes to state that the news is fake and mischievous, and it was orchestrated to mislead the public and strain the seamless inter-agency synergy between the Nigeria Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission in the State.
In a press statement released by the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Jennifer U. Iwegbu, a petition which was dated 20th July, 2022 was received from Dr Anthony Aziegbemi, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Edo State Chapter.
The petition contained certain components that required informed and expert opinion which the Independent National Electoral Commission was best suited to provide towards aiding the Force in arriving at a credible investigative outcome.
In furtherance to this and in appreciation of the inter-agency collaborative relationship between the Police and INEC in the Command, the Edo State INEC Residential Electoral Commissioner was invited, not as a suspect as being falsely projected in the media, but as an expert source to meet with the police leadership in the Command towards aiding us in addressing the technical issues in the investigative process.
The statement further clarified that such administrative interactions between the leaderships of the Nigeria Police and INEC in Edo State is routine and not new.
Contrary to the mischievous information being peddled on the social media by ill-intentioned individuals, the INEC Residential Electoral Commissioner was not invited to the Command Headquarters as a suspect, neither was he treated as one nor detained by the Command.
The Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, CP Abutu Yaro, fdc, urges the good people of Edo state to go about their daily businesses while assuring that professionalism shall continue to guide all actions of the Police Command at all times.
He further employed the general public to continue to work with the police by providing the command with credible information.