LAGOS, Jan 17 (AFP) - Nigerian police have arrested three people allegedly
involved in a five-million-dollar scheme to rig this year's elections, a
police spokesman said Friday.
   The men were arrested at a business centre in the Egbeda area of Lagos
with around half a million fake voter cards following a tip-off, Lagos
police spokesmam Emmanuel Ighodalo told AFP.
   He said the men confessed that a retired colonel had given them a
contract to print a total of five million cards for 200 naira per card
(around 1.6 dollars/euros).
   "We have launched a manhunt for the retired soldier with a view to
arresting him for prosecution," Ighodalo said.
   He said the three men, including the manager of the business centre,
will remain in police custody during the investigation.
   Nigeria is to hold legislative, gubernatorial and presidential polls in
April. The elections will be the first since May 1999, when the west
African country returned to civilian rule after more than 15 years of
military dictatorship.
   Earlier this week, Nigeria's electoral commission said a fresh round of
voter registration would take place next week.
   The exercise to register eligible voters in areas that were denied
registration in a similar exercise in September affects around 30 percent
of the electorate.

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