The police authorities in Sokoto State have arrested a man in possession of over 100 Permanent Voter Cards (PVC), four months before the commencement of the 2023 general elections.
Commissioner of Police in the state, Muhammed Ussaini Gumel, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists at the Command Headquarters in Sokoto.
Although the police authorities are yet to trace the actual owners of the PVCs, Gumel said it is believed that the owners of the PVCs are not residents of Sabon Birnin alone where the suspect was arrested.
He called on members of the public especially those with cases of missing PVCs to visit the command headquarters where copies of the cards will be displayed for owners to identify and reclaim them.
According to the CP, the prosecution of the suspect will be facilitated by the proofs and testimonies of owners who show up at the command headquarters to claim their PVCs.
Shortly after the briefing, the commissioner also decorated six newly promoted officers with their new ranks.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has not printed the PVCs of Nigerians who participated in the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise from January 15 to July 31, 2022.
INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, made this known on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.
Okoye said, “If you are a registered voter, in other words if you belong to the class of 84 million Nigerians that have already registered, you can track your data in our database.
“Secondly, if you were one of those that registered with the Commission during the Continuous Voter Registration exercise between 28th day of June 2021 and 14th day of January 2022, you can track where your Permanent Voter Card is and you will still be in a position to collect it.”