Lagos LG polls: Five party agents arrested with incriminating materials as downpour, thunderstorm hit city

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Lagos State Police Command, on Saturday, arrested five party agents with incriminating materials in Ikeja, as the local government elections got underway.
Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) is conducting chairmanship and councillorship elections in its 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas.
Twelve political parties are participating the election. They are Accord Party (AP), Action Alliance (AA), Alliance for Democracy ( AD ), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP ), Labour Party (LP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
The others are United Democratic Party (UDP), United Progressive Party (UPP), Kowa Party (KP), National Action Council (NAC) and Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM).
Spokesman for the command, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, confirmed the arrest in Lagos.
Famous-Cole said that the suspects,  who claimed to be agents to a political party, were arrested with incriminating materials at 8.30a.m.
“They have been handed over to the Area F Command, which will send them to the special team for election crimes at the state Criminal Investigation Department for further investigations.”
Security agencies, including the police, military, Security and Civil Defence Corps and Immigration, have deployed their personnel to strategic locations in various parts of Lagos to ensure peaceful local government elections.
Movement restriction began at 7am. It will end at 3pm.
Meanwhile, a downpour which began at 5a.m. in many parts of the state left many areas flooded and affected early commencement of voting in the local government polls in many areas.
The rain, accompanied with thunderstorms, lasted for more than two hours, confining many residents to their apartments early in the day, until it later subsided.
The flooding of the roads compelled road users to drive against traffic in some areas as people rushed to beat the 7a.m. restriction of movement time.
At the Berger end of Lagos-Ibadan expressway, many motorists trying to get out of Lagos, apart from contending with the rain, were caught up in  the restriction of movement time which took off at 7a.m, causing a heavy traffic gridlock.
In Badagry, only few voters were at some polling units where security personnel, electoral officers and materials were on ground by 8a.m..
At Polling Units 007, 008 and 009 in Ward A, Badagry Local Government, voters were seen by 8a.m, while at Polling Unit 8 in Ward B, few voters got accredited and began voting by 8.25a.m. .
Only two voters were at Polling Unit 007 in Ward D at 8.30am.
Mrs Verona Chike, the Polling Officer in the unit blamed the low turnout on the downpour.
“I am sure that more voters will come out as soon as the rain stops,” she said.
However, in some areas of Ikotun/ Igando Local Council Development Area, electoral officers and materials had yet to arrive as at 9.30a.m, with only agents of political parties at some poling units visited by then.
In Ward B, Unit 005, on Apapa Road, in Lagos Mainland Local Government Area, electoral officers arrived at 9.25 a.m. shortly after the rain stopped in the area.
In the Alimosho Local Government, the premises of the Local Government Secretariat was a beehive of activities as several commercial buses were seen being loaded with electoral materials and officials at 9:30 am.
Vehicles carrying the materials escorted by security operatives began filing out of the compound which doubles as the LASIEC secretariat at 9:45 am.
Mr Bakare Olagoke, the Electoral Officer of Alimosho Local Government branch of LASIEC, said that the rain delayed the process.
“We are leaving now. It is heavy rain and only God saved us that the communication mast did not fall on our office or anyone because the rain was too heavy,” he said.
Residents are at the polls to elect chairmen and councillors in the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas of the state.