The Akwa Ibom State Police Command says 42 persons have been arrested for electoral offences in the state during the just concluded general elections.
The police spokesperson in Akwa Ibom, Odiko MacDon, stated this last Friday while briefing reporters on the successes recorded in the state by the police in the past month.
Those arrested committed offences ranging from unlawful possession of firearms, unlawful possession of electoral materials such as result sheets, political thuggery, and malicious damage to electoral materials, Mr MacDon, a deputy superintendent of police, said.
Mr MacDon did not give details of those arrested but said the suspects would soon be charged to the court upon completion of investigations.
Other suspected criminals were paraded before reporters during the press briefing which took place at the police headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia.
Mr MacDon said two suspects, Emeti Effiong Jimmy of Assana village and Akaninyene Silas Effiong of Minya Ntak, Mkpat Enin Local Government Area, were arrested on March 14 for a crime of robbery and murder.
The police said the two men robbed their female victim, one Nsidibe Monday Tommy, in her shop in Ikot Ntuen village, Oruk Anam Local Government Area, and disposed her of N70,000.
When the victim’s father, Monday Akpan, tried to rescue her, the suspects hit him on the head with sticks and iron rods. He later died while being rushed to the hospital for treatment, the police said.
The police said it also arrested three men, one Benny Essien Effiong, one Emmanuel, alias ‘Edworm’, and one David, alias ‘Miliphid’ of Mkpanak, Ibeno Local Government Area for robbing six people of their belongings in a compound in the local government area.
One locally made gun, one expended cartridge, four Android phones, ATM cards, SIM cards, and memory cards were recovered from the suspects, according to the police.