Men of the Operation-Mesa attached to 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Tuesday intercepted a truck loaded with 3,600 ballot boxes at Odogbolu, along Sagamu-Ijebu Ode Expressway.
The soldiers were said to be on a stop-and-search operation when they intercepted the truck, its driver and the content of the vehicle were said to have been handed over to the Ogun State police command.
The driver was said to be in police detention in the Ijebu Odea area command headquarters as of the time of this report.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the state command, Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the development.
Adejobi said, “A team of soldiers (OP MESA) attached to 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta intercepted a vehicle at the Odogbolu axis of the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode Expressway containing about 3,600 ballot boxes.
“After they couldn’t ascertain the authenticity of the ballot boxes, they handed them over to the police at the Ijebu-Ode Area Command to commence investigation.
“Right now, we have 3,600 ballot boxes in our custody.”
The police spokesman, however, said some top officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission at the Wharf (Apapa sea port) Lagos, had called the command and said that the ballot boxes belonged to the commission.
The police spokesman added, “Some top officials of INEC at Wharf (Apapa sea port) have called us to say that the consignment belongs to INEC and that the ballot boxes are meant for their office at Uyo, Akwa-Ibom.
“The INEC officials said that the contractor or agent would come to the police headquarters with relevant documents to clarify the authenticity of the vehicle.”