Police were “informed of a possible election issue” after several general election candidates were registered under the name of a YouTube prankster.
Independent candidates under the name Niko Omilana are listed in 11 constituencies in England and Scotland – including Rishi Sunak‘s, Richmond and Northallerton.
Omilana appears to have alluded to the measure in a video on his social media channels, in which he says he “has decided to run for Prime Minister” and wants to “remove” Sunak from politics.
He has over seven million subscribers on YouTube and is known for stunts, including sneaking into the KSI vs. Logan Paul boxing rematch and trying to get into the ring.
In 2021, he ran in the London mayoral elections – and ended up being the main independent candidate after obtaining almost 50,000 votes.
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Addressing Niko Omilana’s various candidates, the YouTuber said in a video: “We will remove Rishi and on top of that we have done the impossible. We tried managing Niko Omilana in various places around the country and somehow we managed to make it happen.
“My goal is for Niko Omilana to get more votes than anyone else and declare himself prime minister.”
What is Niko Omilana’s position?
As well as Richmond and Northallerton, Niko Omilana is listed in Leeds East, Leeds South, Coventry South, Greenwich and Woolwich, North West Essex, Bermondsey and Old Southwark, Birmingham Perry Barr, Dundee Central, Stockton West and Ealing Southall.
Each of them is registered at a different address and their nomination papers were signed by different people.
The Electoral Commission said: “We are aware that the same person was nominated as a candidate in several constituencies in the general election.
“Candidates must confirm in their nomination documents that they are not contesting in any other constituency.
“It is an offense for an individual to provide false information in nomination documents when standing as a candidate, including falsely confirming that they are not standing in another electoral district.”
If this occurred, they added, then it is a police matter.
More from Sky News: What the parties are promising How leaders prepare for debates
Image: A candidate called Niko Omilana is listed to run against Rishi Sunak
According to the electoral law, district officials must take the details of candidate nomination forms at face value and accept them if the nomination meets the requirements.
Applicants do not need to show ID when submitting forms and district officials have no power to investigate.
It is a crime to make a false statement on a candidacy form and the penalty can be imprisonment of up to six months or a fine, the Electoral Commission added.
Who are the general election candidates in Richmond and Northallerton?
Jason Barnett (Independent)
Count Binface (Count Binface Party)
Daniel George Callaghan (Liberal Democrats)
Angie Campion (Independent)
Louise Anne Dickens (Workers’ Party of Great Britain)
Kevin Foster (Green Party)
Goldhammer River (Yorkshire Feast)
Niko Omilana (Independent)
Brian Neil Richmond (independent)
Sir Archibald Stanton (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party)
Rishi Sunak (Conservative Party)
Lee Martin Taylor (UK Reform)
Tom Wilson (Labour Party)
North Yorkshire Police said “we have been made aware of a potential election issue” which is being investigated, and West Midlands Police said it has “received the information and is in contact with the relevant authorities”.
A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said: “The penalty for a false statement is an unlimited fine in England and Wales, £10,000 in Scotland and/or up to a year in prison.
“If a candidate who intentionally made a false statement in his or her nomination document is subsequently elected, the election result may be invalidated through legal proceedings.”
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A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “Although we received two nominations with the same name in different constituencies, they came from two different people who say they are using names that they are legally entitled to use.
“We do not have the power or capacity to investigate such matters and must accept information about appointments at face value, with rare exceptions.
“We understand that similar nominations have been received by a number of local authorities.”
Who are the general election candidates in Leeds East?
Tobie Abel (Liberal Democrats)
Richard Burgon (Labour Party)
Catherine Dobson (Social Democratic Party)
David Dresser (UK Reform)
Sam Firth (Conservative Party)
David Hough (Yorkshire Party)
Jennifer Norman (Green Party)
Niko Omilana (Independent)
Pete Young (Independent)
Who are the general election candidates in Leeds South?
Muhammad Azeem (Workers’ Party of Great Britain)
Hilary Benn (Labour Party)
Janet Bickerdike (Christian Peoples Alliance)
Ed Carlisle (Green Party)
Karen Cooksley (Conservative and Unionist Party)
Niko Omilana (Independent)
George Sykes (Liberal Democrats)
Daniel Paul Whetstone (Social Democratic Party)
Who are the general election candidates in Coventry South?
Chris Baddon (UK Reform)
Mattie Heaven (Conservative Party)
Alastair Mellon (Social Democratic Party)
Joshua Dylan Morland (Independent)
Niko Omilana (Independent)
Anne Patterson (Green Party)
Stephen Richmond (Liberal Democrats)
Zarah Sultana (Labour Party)
Mohammed Ali Syed (Workers’ Party of Great Britain)
Who are the general election candidates in Greenwich and Woolwich?
Chris Annous (Liberal Democrats)
Priyank Bakshi (Weather Party)
Jonathan Goff (Conservative Party)
Abdoul Aziz Ndiaye (UK Reform)
Niko Omilana (Independent)
Matthew Pennycook (Labour Party)
Sheikh Raquib (Workers’ Party of Great Britain)
Stacy Smith (Green Party)
Who are the general election candidates in North West Essex?
Kemi Badenoch (Conservative Party)
Erik Bonino (Independent)
Edward Gildea (Green Party)
Andrew David Green (Independent)
Niko Omilana (Independent)
Smita Rajesh (Liberal Democrats)
Grant StClair-Armstrong (UK Reform)
Issy Waite (Labour Party)
Who are the general election candidates in Bermondsey and Old Southwark?
Rachel Bentley (Liberal Democrats)
Piers Corbyn (independent)
Neil Coyle (Labour Party)
Barry Colin Duckett (Independent)
Susan Elizabeth Hunter (Green Party)
Jonathan Iliff (Conservative Party)
Niko Omilana (Independent)
Tony Sharp (UK Reform)
Who are the Birmingham Perry Barr general election candidates?
Kefentse Dennis (Green Party)
Sabah Hamed (Liberal Democrats)
Garry Hickton (Conservative Party)
Ayoub Khan (independent)
Akshay Khuttan (UK Reform)
Khalid Mahmood (Labour Party)
Niko Omilana (Independent)
Shangara Singh (Socialist Labor Party)
Who are the general election candidates for Dundee Central?
Daniel Coleman (Liberal Democrats)
Susan Ettle (Scottish Family Feast)
Emma Farquhar (Conservative Party)
Chris Law (Scottish National Party)
Vicky McCann (UK Reform)
Richard McCready (Labour and Co-operative Party)
Jim McFarlane (Unionist and Socialist Coalition)
Raymond Mennie (Workers’ Party of Great Britain)
Niko Omilana (Independent)
Alan Ross (Alba Party)
Who are the Stockton West general election candidates?
Nigel Frederick Boddy (Liberal Democrats)
Monty Brack (Independents for Direct Democracy)
Vivek Chhabra (independent)
Joe Dancey (Labour Party)
Stephen Matthews (Reformation UK)
Niko Omilana (Independent)
Anna-Maria Toms (Green Party)
Matt Vickers (Conservative Party)
Mohammed Zaroof (Independent)
Who are the general election candidates in Ealing Southall?
Darshan Singh Azad (Workers’ Party of Great Britain)
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