The Nigeria Police Force has called on residents, political observers and other stakeholders alleging electoral malpractice during Saturday’s Ekiti State governorship election to provide concrete evidence to support their claims rather than relying solely on photographs circulating online.
The appeal followed the emergence of a viral image shared on social media by journalist Oseni Rufai, which showed two policewomen standing near an open polling booth in Ikere Local Government Area of the state.
The image was accompanied by claims that the officers were “helping with vote buying,” triggering widespread criticism and allegations against the police.
Responding to the controversy in a statement posted on his X account on Sunday, the Force’s New Media Officer, Aliyu Giwa, said the officers captured in the photograph were merely carrying out their constitutional responsibility of providing security at the polling unit.
“Allegations of vote buying are serious and should not be based solely on a photograph. The image shows police officers at a polling unit carrying out their constitutional duty of maintaining security,” Giwa stated.
He stressed that the police would not ignore credible allegations of misconduct involving its personnel but insisted that such claims must be backed by verifiable evidence.
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“If there is evidence that any officer aided electoral malpractice, such evidence should be presented for investigation. Facts strengthen democracy and assumptions weaken it,” he added.
The police reaction comes amid allegations of vote buying raised by opposition parties and some observers during the governorship election held across Ekiti State on Saturday.
The election was eventually won by Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, who secured re-election after polling 319,224 votes.
He defeated Olumayokun Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party and Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress across the state’s 16 local government areas.
While opposition parties alleged instances of vote buying and other irregularities during the exercise, the police, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC have maintained that the election was largely peaceful and orderly.
The Nigeria Police Force reiterated that officers were strategically deployed across polling units and other critical locations to ensure public safety, maintain order and support the conduct of a peaceful electoral process.