EdoDecides2024: Vote buying difficult to curb, says Mba

A Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Frank Mba, has said that vote buying is one of the most difficult offences to manage as the perpetrators have different ways of carrying out the act.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on Friday, Mba, in charge of security for the Edo governorship election, admitted that tackling vote buying is a challenging operation for the police.

He said, “Vote buying is one of the most difficult offences to actually police and manage, and I am saying this with every sense of honesty.

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“The reason is simple: the bulk of vote buying and selling that takes place doesn’t take place in the glare of the public, in the glare of the media, or in the glare of the law enforcement agents. Sometimes, they take place in the bedrooms of citizens, and we don’t have the capacity to police every bedroom, every kitchen, every toilet and every balcony.

“But our pledge is that the ones that happen in the glare of the public, the ones our security network is able to detect and intercept, we will deal with them.”

Mba also asked voters to cast their votes and return home, adding that only those accredited to move around would be allowed to do so.

He said, “It is important for everybody to know that if you are not accredited to carry out the functions relating to the election, you shouldn’t be out on the streets.

“If you are not an accredited personnel, just go out there, perform your civil duty, cast your votes, and return to your home.”