Ekiti voters chase EFCC operatives out of polling unit amid vote buying allegations

Voters in Iyin-Ekiti chased away EFCC operatives yesterday during the Ekiti governorship election. The anti-graft agency had stormed the polling unit to monitor suspected vote buying, but the voters resisted their presence and demanded they leave immediately.

The EFCC personnel were forced to retreat as the community insisted the voting process continue without their interference. This happened against a backdrop of widespread allegations of massive vote buying across the state. Yiaga Africa and the International Press Centre have both condemned the weaponisation of poverty through voter inducement.

So the question is simple: if voters are willing to chase away the very agency meant to protect the integrity of the election, what exactly are they protecting? And who benefits when poverty is used to buy silence at the ballot box?