Nigeria MP Arrested With Nearly $500K Before Election

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Facts

  • According to police, Nigerian lawmaker Chinyere Igwe was arrested for allegedly carrying almost $500K in cash and a distribution list a day before the country's general elections, sparking fears about the influence of money in the upcoming vote.1
  • Rivers state police claimed that both the money was found inside a bag along with the list in his car overnight on Friday. It's illegal to transport undeclared cash of more than $10K in Nigeria.2
  • This comes as a video circulating on social media shows a man, suspected to be Igwe, apparently being interrogated by a police officer. As part of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s Presidential Campaign Council in the state, a few weeks ago, he reportedly obtained a restraining order from a Federal High Court preventing his arrest.3
  • The opposition PDP member of the House of Representatives, representing the southern city of Port Harcourt, had not commented on the matter as of Friday evening.4
  • The election comes amid a currency shortage in the country after authorities announced a switch to the new naira note in November, with the change causing nationwide shortfalls of bank notes.5
  • In addition to vote buying, officials have also been concerned about violence, with clashes between supporters of political parties seen on Thursday in Kano state, resulting in the arrests of more than 60 suspects and the death of one person, according to local media.2

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Associated Press, 3Guardian, 4BBC News and 5Abc news.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Al jazeera. The arrest of Igwe is a worrying development in the already tumultuous fragile electoral process in Nigeria. Vote buying is a major threat to democracy in the country, and widespread reports of corruption and bribes have worried authorities as the country faces a nationwide currency shortage.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Washington post. While Nigeria is facing concerns over its upcoming election, its democracy is doing relatively fine. With almost half of the population registered to vote, the electorate seems highly motivated to cast their ballots. The country will no doubt face challenges, but for the most part, this election cycle has so far provided reassurance about the state of Nigerian democracy.

Predictions