The Department of State Services (DSS) in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force has arrested a suspected People’s Democratic Party (PDP) agent, Shehu Aliyu Patangi, with cash allegedly earmarked for vote-buying ahead of Saturday’s by-election in Kaduna State.

Patangi was apprehended on Friday night at a hotel along Turunku Road in the Kaduna metropolis, where he was reportedly coordinating the distribution of funds meant to influence voters in the Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency election.

Reliable security sources disclosed that the suspect was found with cash running into tens of millions, suspected to be set aside to compromise the integrity of the polls.

Confirming the arrest, the spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, DSP Mansir Hassan, said operatives of the Police and DSS recovered a total of ₦25,963,000 from the suspect.

“At about 0330hrs today, operatives arrested one Shehu Aliyu Patangi at a popular hotel located along Turunku Road in Kaduna metropolis and recovered a total cash sum of ₦25,963,000, believed to be earmarked for inducing voters to compromise the electoral process,” Hassan stated.

He added that preliminary investigations revealed the suspect’s plan to bribe eligible voters. “On interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime and pleaded for leniency,” Hassan said.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Rabiu Muhammad, appreciated the synergy between security agencies and warned that anyone, regardless of status, found attempting to undermine the electoral process would face the full weight of the law.

He further reassured Kaduna residents of maximum security before, during, and after the elections, urging them to exercise their franchise peacefully and lawfully without fear or intimidation.