A joint panel of officers from the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Security, and officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission has summoned the suspended Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, to answer questions about his conduct during the state’s supplementary elections on April 15.
The inquiry panel was formed by the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, Force Headquarters, Louis Edet House, in Abuja.
In the run-up to the 2023 general elections, Garba Umar, Assistant Inspector-General of Police and Head of Interpol in Nigeria was selected as the Head of the election preparation, monitoring, and assessment team.
Funmi Eguaoje, a spokesperson for the Force Criminal Investigation Department, confirmed the development to our correspondent on Monday.
Yunusa-Ari sparked outrage by proclaiming the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Aisha Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, as the winner of the Adamawa State governorship election while the results were still being tallied.
Following this, INEC issued a statement declaring his declaration null and void.
INEC summoned Yunusa-Ari to its offices in Abuja, but he did not appear.
The electoral umpire also wrote to the NPF, requesting that it investigate and, if found guilty, prosecute Yunusa-Ari for alleged election violations.
Following receipt of the letter, the IG formed an investigative team to work with INEC on the case, while the electoral umpire stated that it was unaware of Yunusa-Ari’s whereabouts.
On April 20, President Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) approved Yunusa-Ari’s suspension awaiting the outcome of a police inquiry.
