The team, working on intelligence on the alleged activities of one Kabiru Musa who was seen in a video allegedly inducing eligible voters by using his phone to transfer money into their accounts as they cast their votes, had mobilised to the scene to arrest the suspect.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on election monitoring duty in Kaduna State on Saturday, March 18, 2023, came under attack at School Road, Unguwan Rimi in Kaduna while attempting to arrest a suspected vote-buyer.
The team, working on intelligence on the alleged activities of one Kabiru Musa who was seen in a video allegedly inducing eligible voters by using his phone to transfer money into their accounts as they cast their votes, had mobilised to the scene to arrest the suspect.
However, immediately after he was accosted by the operatives, Musa reportedly became unruly and screamed to attract the attention of his syndicate members, who descended on the operatives.
They reportedly used all manner of weapons that left some of them injured. It reportedly took restraint on behalf of the operatives to ignore the unprovoked attack and insist on arresting the suspect.
As the team drove away with the suspect, their vehicle was pelted with stones and other dangerous objects that damaged the windshield.
Three operatives suffered varying degrees of injury in the process.
The injured operatives are currently receiving medical attention at the Medical Centre of the Kaduna Zonal Command, while the suspect is in custody, pending the conclusion of the investigation.
EFCC teams were similarly attacked during the presidential and national assembly elections, leaving some of its vehicles badly damaged.
Reacting to the incident, Executive Chairman of the Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa commended the operatives for exercising great restraint under extreme provocation. He however appealed to the public to desist from attacking officers of the Commission as such action would no longer be tolerated.