In the aftermath of the March 18, 2023 governorship and state assembly elections in Agaie town, three individuals have been remanded in custody at the Correctional facility by the Minna Chief Magistrate Court No. 3. The accused, Usman Aliyu, Mohammed Mohammed, and Salihu Mohammed, were arrested by police operatives from the Agaie Divisional Command for possession of electoral materials, including ballot papers and result forms. Additionally, the three accused were charged with snatching a BVAS machine and other electoral materials, criminal conspiracy, and failure to provide information to a public servant.
Inspector Emmanuel Bassa provided the First Information Report (FIR) on the case, outlining the charges against the accused. According to the FIR, the accused disrupted the collation of results for the gubernatorial and state assembly elections at Bugama polling unit, Magaji Ward of Agaie, and threatened INEC officials. The accused then snatched a BVAS machine (no. 26.01.10001) and other electoral materials.
The police acted promptly, recovered the stolen INEC materials, and arrested the accused, who were all from the Ekowuma area and Buhama village, via Agaie. The investigation later revealed that Mohammed Mohammed and Salihu Mohammed were aware of the whereabouts of the INEC materials and failed to provide information to the police.
The Magistrate, Ahmed Aliyu Musa, read the charges to the accused, who all pleaded not guilty. The police prosecutor, Inspector Emmanuel Bassa, requested an adjournment of the case to complete the investigation and apprehend those still at large. The Magistrate granted the request and adjourned the case to April 4 for further mention. In the meantime, the accused were remanded in custody at the correctional facility. The charges against them are punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code and Sections 115(2) and 126(1) of the Electoral Act, 2023.
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