Our Correspondent
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday expressed concern that almost two years after the conduct of the 2023 general elections, several electoral offences cases are still pending before courts.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who disclosed this at the first regular Quarterly Consultative Meeting with the Media, noted that the major obstacle to the speedy dispensation of justice was that electoral offences are not time-bound.
According to him, one of the critical areas of reforms was the prosecution of electoral offenders, adding that judicial and legislative action in the last few days underscored the Commission’s effort to deal with offences involving officials of the Commission assigned to carry out designated responsibilities.
The Chairman informed that so far, successful prosecutions have been recorded in Kebbi and Kogi States while INEC’s collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on vote-buying has yielded similar results in Lagos, Kwara and Gombe States.
“The recent successful prosecution of a Returning Officer in Akwa Ibom State is a case in point. The Commission has been diligently pursuing the case which arose from the 2019 general election.
“In this particular case, it took nearly six years to achieve the successful prosecution at the trial court. Through our collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) cases involving 774 alleged offenders from the 2023 general election are being prosecuted,” he added.
“A major obstacle to the speedy dispensation of justice in this regard is that electoral offences are not time-bound as is the case with post-election offences through the tribunals.
“Furthermore, they are solely prosecuted by the Magistrate and State High Courts in the jurisdiction where the alleged offences are committed.
“No priority attention is given to such cases as the courts deal with a variety of other cases. Consequently, electoral offences are carried over from one General Election to another which may sometimes affect the diligent prosecution of the cases.
“It is therefore imperative to renew our call for the creation of the Electoral Offences Tribunal that have a specific jurisdiction and limited timeframe for the speedy dispensation of cases. I urge the media to join in this patriotic advocacy for the good of our electoral democracy.
Speaking, the National President, Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ) Alhaji Alhassan Yahaya, urged INEC to explore cost-effective measures in the execution of its activities.
Represented by General Secretary Achike Chude, the NUJ Secretary said the media would continue to support INEC in its efforts to conduct credible elections in the country.
