DSS Arraigns Two INEC Officials For Allegedly Stealing And Selling PVCs

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Two officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Monday Ifiesimama and Beesor Sorle, were on Thursday, February 7, arraigned by the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly stealing Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

NAN reports that the two were arraigned before a chief magistrate court in Port Harcourt for alleged electoral offences.

It was learnt that one Darlington Ogolo, was also arraigned alongside the INEC officials.

According to the report, Ifiesimama and Sorle were accused of attempting to steal 3,097 PVCs and selling them to Ogolo, whose identity was still under investigation.

For his part, Ogolo was accused of bribing Ifiesimama and Sorle with N300,000 and N120,000 as payment for the stolen PVCs.

The prosecuting counsel, Calistus Eze, said the accused persons allegedly committed the offences between May and August 2018.

He said their acts contravened sections 98 (4) (1) and (A) (1) of the criminal code law of Rivers state apart from sections 120 (1) (d) and 117 (1) (e) of the electoral act 2010 which were allegedly violated.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the allegations making the chief magistrate, SD Andrew-Jaja, to admit them to bail in the sum of N100,000 each with a surety each in same amount.

Before adjourning the matter to February 20, the chief magistrate said the sureties must be civil servants on not less than grade level 12 in the Rivers state civil service.

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