By Nkechi Eze
In a proactive move to curb electoral fraud and financial crimes, operatives of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were deployed across various Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Lagos State during the local government elections held on Saturday, July 12, 2025.
The Commission’s spokesperson Dele Oyewale, disclosed in an official statement that the deployment was part of efforts to prevent voter inducement and enforce compliance with the Electoral Act. The operatives were tasked with monitoring for incidents of vote buying, vote selling, and other forms of electoral manipulation.
Before their deployment, the Acting Zonal Director of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE I) Ahmed Ghali, addressed the personnel, reaffirming the Commission’s commitment to ensuring the integrity of the electoral process. “We are going there to monitor the election and ensure that it is peaceful,” he stated.
Ghali also personally visited several polling units in Ikeja, Agege, Surulere, and Apapa to assess the situation on the ground.
Speaking on the exercise and field reports from EFCC officers, he noted that the process had remained calm and orderly throughout the day.
“The exercise has been peaceful. We have not received any news of vote buying in any of the polling units visited so far. We are still monitoring until voting is completed,” Ghali said.
The EFCC’s presence at the polls underscores its continued effort to uphold transparency and deter the misuse of funds in the electoral process.
