Police grant bail to suspended Adamawa REC, Yunusa-Ari

Police have confirmed granting bail to the embattled and suspended Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa State, Barrister Hudu Yunusa-Ari, who has been in their custody since Tuesday.

The Force Headquarters, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, also disclosed that investigations into the case surrounding Ari’s involvement in the illegal declaration of the wrong candidate as winner of the Adamawa Supplementary Governorship election on Sunday, April 16, continues.

Yunusa-Ari had on the following day, Sunday, April 16 declared Senator (Mrs) Aisha Ahmed Dahiru (Binani) winner with no supporting data, even as the collation of election results was ongoing; a declaration which was annulled and voided by INEC Headquarters in Abuja, which subsequently suspended, a decision further ratified by the Federal Government via an approval by President Muhammadu Buhari, pending the completion of an investigation by the police.

According to the police, Ari is now expected to report at the Force Headquarters ‘every weekday’ while investigation s continue.

“The Nigeria Police Force hereby confirms that Barr. Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the Suspended Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who has been in custody for interrogations by the police in the course of investigations into allegations of impropriety during the supplementary gubernatorial pools in the state, has been granted administrative bail by the Police while investigations subsist.

“He is expected to report at the Police Headquarters every weekday while investigations are ongoing on the matter,” police said.

The arrest of Yunusa-Ari became the subject of another controversy earlier in the week after a source had claimed that the former REC submitted himself to the police, and not arrested as claimed.

Confirming Oracle Today newspaper’s claims, Tuesday, which raised doubts over claims by the police that they have arrested the suspended fugitive Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Barrister Hudu Yunusa-Ari, an unnamed serving Nigerian senator has now claimed he personally drove the embattled electoral officer to the Police Headquarter in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to the senator, Ari was never arrested by the police as was claimed by the security agency, Tuesday.

It would be recalled that the Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Tuesday, confirmed that the police have arrested the embattled former INEC REC, and that the commissioner was in their custody.

“The Nigeria Police Force hereby confirms the arrest of Barr. Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who was alleged to have announced the candidate of the All Progressives Congress winner of the gubernatorial elections during the recently concluded supplementary elections following calls for his arrest and investigation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the basis of alleged impropriety in the course of supplementary gubernatorial polls in the State. Barrister Ari, who was arrested by the Police Election Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Team in Abuja on Tuesday 2nd May, 2023, is currently in Police custody and is being grilled to ascertain the motives and motivations behind his alleged improper actions during the supplementary elections in Adamawa State.

“In addition, other officials and individuals culpable in the saga are being interrogated by the team,” the police statement read.

However, Oracle Today raised questions over the surprise arrest of Ari who was declared missing by INEC, since April 17 after his illegal act of declaring a candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ahmed (Binani) as winner and governor-elect in the Adamawa State Supplementary Governorship elections of Saturday, April 16.

However, a fresh report has claimed that Ari actually turned himself in, and not arrested as claimed by the police.

Yunusa-Ari was reportedly driven to the Force Headquarters in Abuja by a Senator (names withheld) in honour of the invitation issued to him by the INTERPOL.

An unnamed source said “Adamawa REC voluntarily reported to police, not arrested. The police invited him for interrogation on May 5th and he voluntarily went on May 2nd.

“He was driven to the Force Headquarters by a Senator.”

The police had on April 27, invited the Adamawa REC to report to its National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja office at Police Force Headquarters for interview by the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Interpol on Friday 5th May 2023 at 1000hrs.

The Interpol invitation to Yunusa-Ari is over his conduct during the April 15 governorship election in Adamawa State.

An investigative panel constituted by the IGP Usman Baba Alkali and headed by Garba Umar, Assistant Inspector-General of Police, the head of Interpol in Nigeria invited Yunusa-Ari to show up at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, which he honoured, Tuesday.