A University Don, Mr Gabriel Agabi Akwaji has been arrested for parading himself as a Returning Officer in Yache Ward, Yala Local Government in the on-going Presidential and National Assembly elections in Cross River State.
Akwaji(pictured) impersonated the original Returning Officer of the Ward, Dr Dominic Abakedi of the Department of Philosophy , University of Calabar.
The rigour of the assignment at the polling units that are in the Ward kept Abakedi from getting to the collation centre until 2.00pm on Sunday.
Before the Varsity don’s arrival, his colleague in the lecturing industry, Akwaji, in collusion with a chieftain of one of the major parties, and others at large had carried out a scheme.
They used their own Bimodal Voter Accreditation System,BVAS machine, different from that of the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, in a hide-out and concocted results, ballot papers and other documents, report in circulation said.
The general account added that, the unscrupulous lecturer arrived INEC Collation centre at Ogoja , Northern Senatorial District of Cross River state with them.
And on it, 216 voters were accredited but 250 votes were cast, while in all the 33 polling Units of the Ward, 5000 votes was recorded against the name of the party that sent him on the errand.
His albatross, the report further said, was the eagle eyes of INEC officials and opposition parties’ agent. They found him out.
The fake BVAS with serial No: 09/18/10/012 also exposed his identity theft.
He was immediately arrested, and said to be in detention at the Criminal Investigation Department, CID, Ogoja Command.
