Ahead of Saturday’s governorship and Houses of Assembly elections, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission says it has deployed 200 armed operatives to Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states to check vote-buying.

The Kano Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Mr Farouk Dogondaji, disclosed this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Kano on Thursday.

Dogondaji said the deployment was part of the commission’s commitment towards ensuring credible and transparent elections in the zone.

“We have deployed 50 personnel to monitor the conduct of the election in Kano State, 50 in Jigawa and 50 in Katsina State to prevent vote-buying throughout the electoral process,” he said.

Dogondaji said the remaining officers were deployed in the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano and the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Airport, Katsina.

“We will be visible in nine senatorial districts of Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states to carefully monitor the entire exercise during and after elections.

“We will be physically present at collation centres to prevent tampering with results from the local government level to the state.

“We are carefully monitoring the entire exercise along with state security agencies towards providing a peaceful atmosphere for eligible residents to elect leaders of their choice in our areas of supervision,” he added.

The zonal commander stressed that “Our presence is to credibly add value to the electoral process by preventing vote-buying and change of results at collaboration centres to pave the way for the electorate to elect leaders of their choice through democratic process.”

Dogondaji called on parents not to allow their children to be used as political thugs as anyone found wanting would be arrested and prosecuted.

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