From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Police has announced the arrest of suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Adamawa State, Hudu Yinusa Ari who usurped the powers of the Returning Officer in the states’s supplementary poll on April 15, 2023 and declared candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru as governor -elect while collation of results was still ongoing.
Confirming the arrest of the REC, who had disappeared into ‘thin’ air before he resurfaced on Tuesday, April to grant the BBC Hausa service an “I have no regret’, interview, Force spokesperson, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi said the Police monitoring team swooped on the embattled REC before he could ‘disappear’ again and took him into custody for grilling.
According to Adejobi, “The Nigeria Police Force hereby confirms the arrest of Barr. Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who was alleged to have announced the candidate of the All Progressives Congress winner of the gubernatorial elections during the recently concluded supplementary elections following calls for his arrest and investigation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the basis of alleged impropriety in the course of supplementary gubernatorial polls in the State.
Barrister Ari, who was arrested by the Police Election Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Team in Abuja on Tuesday 2nd May, 2023, is currently in Police custody and is being grilled to ascertain the motives and motivations behind his alleged improper actions during the supplementary elections in Adamawa State. In addition, other officials and individuals culpable in the saga are being interrogated by the team.
The Inspector-General of Police has given clear assurance that every individual involved/indicted in the matter will be apprehended and investigated in line with the provisions of the law for possible prosecution. The Inspector-General of Police has assured of the commitment of the Force to ensuring that justice is served in this case and that all guilty parties are brought to justice.”
He added that “others fingered officials under interrogation,”
The development comes hours after Ari said in a BBC Hausa interview that he would surrender himself to the police two weeks after he went into hiding.
The REC who was immediately checkmated by the Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu by cancelling the declaration and suspended him before President Buhari upon his arrival from the Lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia promptly ordered an investigation into the ensuing controversy, disclosed in the said interview that he never regretted announcing Dahiru as the winner of the 2023 governorship election in the state, adding that he carried out the announcement to stop observed manipulation and falsification of results.
Ignoring the attempt by Binani to hoodwink the electoral umpire and muddle the process through recourse to legal battle, INEC had gone ahead to concluded the election and announced the incumbent governor, Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP, as the genuine winner of the poll.
Unfortunately for Ari, the police authorities had headed INEC’s Chairman’s plea to arrest and prosecute him but his whereabouts was unknown for over two weeks before he was nabbed on Tuesday.
