Suspected political hoodlums have attacked a team of operatives from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), who were on duty monitoring the ongoing presidential and national assembly elections near the Chief’s palace in Bwari Area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a statement posted on the Commission’s social media pages, the operatives were attacked following the arrest of a man for allegedly masterminding a well-orchestrated vote-buying procedure at the polling unit situated at Science Primary School, Bwari.
According to the EFCC, “The team had arrested the suspect, said to be about 30 years old, and retrieved from him a list of beneficiaries he had already paid some money to, through an online banking app.
“It was at the point of moving the suspect away from the polling unit that the thugs attacked, smashing the windshield of the Commission’s patrol van.”
The statement added that after the commission’s operative responded by releasing warning shots, the thugs retreated into their hideouts “before members of the Joint Task Force team comprising the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police and others, Arrived the scene.”
The anti-graft agency stated that the incident had been reported at the Bwari Police Station immediately.
In a similar development, another team of EFCC’s operatives “on election monitoring duty at Unit 001, Mann Primary School behind Chorobim junction was shot at by unknown persons two black Prado SUV’s and one white Hilux outside the polling unit, suspected to be buying votes. The EFCC team responded, forcing them to flee the scene. The incident was formally reported to DCP Operations, Haruna Femi at the Imo State Police Command.”