Seven policemen have been arrested in Ekpenyong Atai community, Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, for allegedly invading a polling unit in the area, during the Governorship and House of Assembly elections last Saturday.

The police officers were reported to have fired shots sporadically in different directions and forcefully hijacked the election materials meant for the area, to facilitate their plot to rig the polls.

Luck, however, ran out of them, as they were promptly apprehended and disarmed by men of the Department of State Security (DSS) and other security personnel in the area.

Confirming the arrest to newsmen, Gov. Godswill Akpabio, alleged that the policemen were hired by the All Progressive Congress (APC), to hijack the election’s materials.

“It was shockingly revealed that the police men, who came all the way from Uyo, the state capital, to Essien Udim LGA to commit the election crime, were not assigned any electoral duty by the police authorities that election day,” the governor said.

Earlier, many armed thugs had been arrested in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area by men of the 6 Battalion of the Nigerian army, Ibagwa, Abak.

News Express recalls that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Suleiman Abba, had vowed to clamp down on election offenders who engaged in any form of malpractice, including, rigging, violence, thuggery and other sharp practices in any part of the country, which led to his deployment of an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Adisa Bolanta and two additional Police Commissioners to Akwa Ibom on the eve of the governorship elections, to enforce and enhance security.

•Photo shows IGP Suleiman Abba.