The Police on Saturday arrested some hoodlums who attempted to snatch election materials during the by-election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission to fill the vacant seat of Ife Central Constituency at Osun State House of Assembly.

The hoodlums were said to have stormed some polling units around More and Ilare and made attempts to snatch ballot papers and other sensitive materials.


 
But the policemen deployed for the poll acted promptly to disarm the miscreants who had come to the areas with guns.

The Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Mr. Kola Sodipo, when contacted on the telephone confirmed the arrest.

Sodipo said, “Some boys were arrested by our men for attempting to disrupt the election. Our men rose to the occasion and quickly arrested them before they could disrupt the process. The election was peaceful everywhere but these boys just decided to disrupt it towards the end but they were arrested.”

The National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prof. Wale Oladipo, who also spoke to our correspondent, said anybody caught violating the law should be made to face its full wrath.

The Deputy National Chairman of the Nigeria Advance Party, Mr. Tosin Odeyemi, said those arrested for attempting to disrupt the poll should be prosecuted.

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Tilewa Sijuwade, expressed satisfaction over the election.

Candidate of the Accord Party, Olusegun Fanibe, described the election as history in the making, saying he is not desperate about becoming a lawmaker.

PDP candidate, Dipo Eluwole, said he observed that the election was peaceful but added that there was an influx of strange faces prior to the end of the poll.

The seat became vacant following the death of Mr. Oladejo Makinde in December last year.