Olasunkanmi Akoni and Evelyn Usman
18 January 2003
THE Police in Lagos have begun a massive surveillance on business centres and cyber cafés in the state following the recent arrest of business centre operator for printing fake voters cards. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed shock over the discovery.
The police had found about 5 million fake voters cards to be printed at a business centre located at Egbeda area of the state. Three suspects are already in police net..
Announcing this to newsmen, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ighodalo said "following the arrest of the three persons suspected to be involved in the scam, the police are now sniffing everywhere, especially business centres and cyber cafes with emphasis around Egbeda area that could be carrying out this kind of heinous act .Already we have questioned an immigration Officer who runs a business centre along Egbada area, and he has given us useful information which we are now working on".
Ighodalo, said the principal suspect, a retired army colonel, contracted out the job to the business centre escaped when news of the discovery reached him, adding that efforts were being intensified to track him down. He however appealed to members o f the public who had useful information that could lead to the arrest of computer operators engaged in the same scam not to hesitate to inform the police, explaining that it would go a long way to avoid rigging in the forth coming election. Also speaking to journalists at the state command, the officer in-charge of Criminal Investigation Bureau\ Security, Kenneth Ebrimson, a Chief Superintendent of Police, said the plans was uncovered following a tip off that a business centre at Egbeda was printing fake voters cards.
"Based on this information, a team of police detectives led by Inspector Emmanuel Edeh conducted a search at the centre and later confirmed the scam and arrested the suspects in the process. A diskette, a computer system and seven already printed cards were recovered, but the computer operator was smart enough to have deleted the work from the system" Mr. Ebrimson added that the computer operator simply identified as Wasiu Oladipo , a 25 year old indigene of Ekiti state had made confessional statement .
Other suspects detained are Okunola Sadiq and Mrs. Ibikunle Olorunfemi who are both interns in the centre. Police however said they were both innocent of the offence, as they had no knowledge of the scam but were arrested based on their presence as at the time of arrest.
Meanwhile, INEC representative who visited the state command yesterday, on the invitation of the police, expressed shock, at the discovery, saying it would have been difficult to differentiate the fake cards from the original copy if they were undetected.
The five-man delegation who commended the police for doing a good job, enjoined it to carry out a thorough search on all other business centres and bring the perpetrators to book.
In another development, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in-charge of zone II, Mr Adedayo Adeoye yesterday held an emergency meeting with both the commissioners of police, Lagos and Ogun states including senior officers on the need to step up security in the forth coming election.
The meeting which was held behind closed doors Vanguard later gathered, that the A.I.G ordered for the strengthening of the Mobile Police Force Units with the states with a view to ensuring a violent free electioneering.
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