Nigeria MP arrested with nearly $500,000 before election

Chinyere Igwe was discovered travelling with the cash and a distribution record, police say a day earlier than Nigerian elections.

The arrest got here a day earlier than the nation's presidential and parliamentary elections [Sunday Alamba/AP Photo]

Police in Nigeria have arrested a member of parliament who was allegedly carrying virtually $500,000 in money in a battleground state a day earlier than the nation’s presidential and parliamentary elections, elevating considerations in regards to the affect of cash within the vote.

Chinyere Igwe, a member of Nigeria’s Home of Representatives, was on Friday discovered travelling with the cash inside a bag in his automobile at roughly 2am (01:00 GMT) together with a distribution record, Rivers state police spokesperson Grace Iringe-Koko mentioned.

It's unlawful to maneuver undeclared money of greater than $10,000 in Nigeria. Authorities have been interrogating the legislator, Iringe-Koko mentioned.

Nigeria’s electoral fee, in the meantime, has suspended the senatorial election in southeastern Enugu, the place the opposition Labour Occasion candidate was killed, the fee’s chairman Mahmood Yakubu mentioned.

One opposition social gathering candidate and the driving force of a marketing campaign minibus belonging to a different social gathering have been killed in a sequence of coordinated assaults in Enugu State on Thursday, police mentioned.

Individually, authorities in Kano State introduced the arrests of greater than 60 “suspected thugs with harmful weapons” after supporters of political events clashed on Thursday. Native media reported one particular person was burned to demise within the clashes.

Nigerian voters will head to the polls on Saturday to pick a brand new president following the second and ultimate time period of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. They may even elect a brand new nationwide legislature.

Three front-runners have emerged from a discipline of 18 presidential candidates, together with the governing social gathering’s Bola Tinubu and the principle opposition social gathering’s Atiku Abubakar. Most polls have favoured Peter Obi, a third-party hopeful.

Scarcity of forex

The election comes amid a forex scarcity in Africa’s most populous nation, elevating considerations about whether or not it would have an effect on voter turnout. Authorities introduced the swap to a brand new observe of official forex naira in November, however the swap has led to shortfalls of financial institution notes nationwide.

On the identical time, there have been doubts in regards to the skill of Nigerian authorities to curb the affect of cash within the nation’s elections.

Observer teams have documented political events making funds starting from 500 naira ($1.08) to 10,000 naira ($10.8) to folks prepared to vote for his or her candidates, a tactic used amid excessive unemployment and poverty charges within the nation.

“Vote shopping for stays a serious risk to our democracy,” Mahmood Yakubu, the top of Nigeria’s election fee, advised reporters Thursday.

Using cell phones is prohibited at Nigeria’s voting stations, Yakubu mentioned. Authorities launched the ban to counter voters photographing ballots as proof in alternate for money from political events.