Just In : Court Remands APC Chieftain Over Vote-Buying
Following his plea of guilt to the offence of vote buying, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Wahab Hammed, has been remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja.
Arraigned before Justice Ismail Ijelu on a two-count charge related to conspiracy and vote buying during the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections, Hammed pleaded guilty after the charges were translated to Yoruba, as he could neither speak nor understand English.
According to the prosecution counsel, Mr. Samuel Daji, Hammed, along with one Segun Ijitola (still at large), conspired to pay voters during the 2023 elections at Unit 28, Gbaja Girls Junior High School, in Surulere. The charges filed against him contravene sections 121 (1) and (5); 121 (1) and 1 (3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
Daji requested the court to schedule the matter for December 7 to allow the commission to fine-tune the facts for review. In response, the defendant’s counsel, Olabiyi Ademola, urged the court to remand Hammed in the custody of the EFCC rather than a custodial center, considering that the matter would be called on December 7.
