The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have yet to publicly respond to rigging admissions made by Tony Okocha, the embattled chairman of the Rivers State All Progressives Congress, on Thursday.
FIJ reviewed the social media pages and recent press statements of both agencies but found no mention of Okocha as of press time.
Okocha, who served as Chief of Staff to former Governor Rotimi Amaechi from 2007 to 2015, appeared on a Channels TV programme on Thursday evening, where he admitted to rigging local council elections during Amaechi’s tenure.
Okocha argued he deserved credit for confessing, saying: “On the issue of whether I rigged the election, I did not hide it. I should be praised as a whistleblower.”
He argued that his actions were in the past, and he could not be punished for them.
“If you were an armed robber yesterday, and today you came to confess that you stole something somewhere yesterday. Are you saying that the law will now take a retroactive effect? The answer is no,” he said.
“When you have an idea of a thing and you see the other person also wants to use the tactics that you already know, you will shout. That is the reason why we went to court.”
On August 12, Justice Sika Aprioku of the Port Harcourt High Court removed Okocha from his position as chairman and reinstated Emeka Beke, the previously ousted chairman.
During Thursday’s interview, Okocha mentioned Beke, saying, “We were all together, including Emeka Beke.”
However, Beke disputed this, stating, “I did not accompany you to the election. I did not participate in any election at all.”
According to FIJ, attempt to contact NPF spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi, but he did not answer the calls. Text messages were also sent, but as of press time, he had not responded.
Source: FIJ
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