Following his attempt to Compromise the integrity of the Adamawa gubernatorial elections by declaring the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Aisha Binani Dashiru, the winner of the poll before the final collation of results, the embattled state Residential Electoral commissioner, Barrister Hudu Yunusa Ari, has been arrested by the operatives of the Nigeria Police Force today.

The Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, confirmed in a statement that the REC, who was allegedly hiding, and other officials involved in the illegal activity were taken into police custody earlier today.

He further noted that the REC and other persons who were culpable would be subjected to investigations and grilling to ascertain their motives for violating the electoral laws and for causing political unrest during the supplementary elections

CSP Adejobi also reiterated the police’s commitment to bring all the concerned parties involved in the contravention of the electoral law to prosecution if found guilty.

According to the statement “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 as the 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.

The April 15th Adamawa supplementary elections courted controversy when the embattled REC declared the candidate of the APC Aisha Binani Dashiru as the winner of the poll ahead of the PDP candidate Umaru Fintiri while the state was still waiting for results from 10 LGAs.

This almost escalated into anarchy in the state, but the electoral commission hurriedly came to play by nullifying the declaration. The commission later concluded the process, which saw the PDP candidate as the legitimate winner of the poll.

Subsequently, INEC announced Ari’s suspension and reported him to law enforcement agencies for investigations and prosecution. Surprisingly, the commission, however noted that it was oblivious to the REC’s whereabouts, that he has been hiding

Meanwhile, the REC had written to law enforcement to justify his actions saying that his decision to declare Binani as the winner was within the ambient of the law. The REC was also reported to have granted an interview in Hausa earlier today that he would surrender himself to the police two weeks after he went hiding