The All Progressives Congress (APC) has demanded the arrest of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Kogi State, Dino Melaye, over his alleged claim of having access to the backend server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The call was made by the spokesperson of the APC Governorship Campaign Council in Kogi State, Kingsley Fanwo, during a press conference in Lokoja on Tuesday.
Fanwo compared Melaye’s assertion to “walking into the prison yard and demanding to be locked up” and insisted that security agencies should act swiftly on a suspect who openly confesses to a crime. The APC representative stated, “Dino Melaye has openly confessed that he hacked into the back end of INEC. Melaye should be arrested and prosecuted for cybercrime.”
In response to the call for his arrest, Melaye issued a seven-day ultimatum to INEC to review the outcome of the November 11 polls in Kogi State. The PDP candidate, who came third in the election, alleged cases of mutilation, overvoting, and suppression of voters. Melaye rejected INEC’s declaration and called for the cancellation of elections in specific polling units, presenting evidence of irregularities.
During an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Melaye stated, “INEC is aware that some local government results were written before the election. Seventeen local governments in Kogi State have overvoting. We have submitted our petitions to INEC with shreds of evidence this afternoon. Our next line of action is that INEC has seven days to review petitions. We are going to see what they will do. In a just society, silence is a crime.”
Melaye insisted on the cancellation of the election in five local government areas, emphasizing the need for a fair and just electoral process. The unfolding situation adds tension to the aftermath of the Kogi State governorship election.
