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A civil society organisation, Centre For Grassroots Development And Crime Prevention, has called on security agencies in Ogun State apprehend the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the March 18 governorship election, Oladipupo Adebutu, and his cohorts, for committing high degree of electoral fraud.
It alleged that Adebutu, acting through a foundation, had distributed about 200,000 ATM cards issued by a new generation bank and loaded with N10,000 each with intention to buy votes across the state and influence the outcome of the electoral process to his favour, thereby violating electoral law with almost impunity.
The organisation, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Taiwo Salako, in Abeokuta, alleged that the magnitude of electoral fraud perpetrated by Adebutu and his party, the PDP, during the poll was practically unprecedented in the state and called on concerned authorities to address the infraction and make the perpetrators to face the wrath of the law.
It stressed that after polluting the political atmosphere of the state and flagrantly flouted the extant law of the land and Electoral Act, Adebutu and his co-travellers in the atrocities must be prosecuted to serve as deterrent for others with the same mentality of electoral rascality.
According to the statement, ever since the crime was committed and consequently exposed, the PDP candidate had been running from pillar to poll purposely to evade arrest and escape prosecution; which informed his recent travel abroad.
The group, therefore, called for his arrest, adding that justice must not be delayed.
in any way, because of its adverse impact on the people and the sanctity of electoral process in Nigeria.
It added that the electoral infraction committed by Adebutu during the March 18 gubernatorial election in the state without recourse to electoral law was a great threat to democracy not only in Ogun but Nigeria at large.
“It is highly regrettable and practically unthinkable that someone like Adebutu is still going around as a free man after committing such heinous act of that magnitude during the gubernatorial election in Ogun, in which the political environment of the state was badly polluted.
“Adebutu, by his action had set a very bad precedence of broad day electoral fraud with impunity, unless he is being prosecuted and make to face justice as a way of passing a strong message to politicians of his type who are too desperate to get to power through the back door and for selfish political interest.
“This character, by his action and subsequent utterances have shown no remorse for his crime and appeared to have taken the law of the land and electoral process for granted as if he is above the law and untouchable.
“It is on that note that we call on security agencies to arrest Adebutu without delay and prosecute him He cannot continue to hold the law enforcement agencies to ransom by claiming to have travelled abroad for medical care, meanwhile, he was quoted in another quarters to have adduced his journey abroad to threat of life.
“Definitely, his contradictory statements on the rationale behind his journey abroad clearly showed the deliberate intention of evading arrest and escape the long harm of law; this must not be allowed to happen under any guise whatsoever.
“Security agencies must do the needful, even with the help of interpol if the need arises,” the said in the statement.
