By Nkechi Eze
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged the media and the Nigerian public to step up their advocacy for the establishment of the Electoral Offences Tribunal. This specialized tribunal would have the sole jurisdiction to swiftly handle electoral offence cases, ensuring timely justice and deterring future malpractices.
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has highlighted the challenges faced by the commission in addressing electoral offenses. Speaking at the first quarterly consultative meeting with the media, Yakubu emphasized the need for reforms, particularly in prosecuting electoral offenders.
“One of these areas of reform is the prosecution of electoral offenders. Judicial and legislative action in the last few days underscores our effort to deal with offences involving officials of the Commission assigned to carry out designated responsibilities.
“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.”
However, Yakubu expressed concerns about the slow pace of prosecution due to the absence of an electoral offenses tribunal and a defined timeframe for such cases, Citing the recent successful prosecution of a returning officer in Akwa Ibom State as 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 a 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.
“So far, successful prosecutions have been recorded in Kebbi and Kogi States while our collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on vote-buying has yielded similar results in Lagos, Kwara and Gombe States. Yet, many cases are still pending.
“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,” he noted.
The National President, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr. Hassan Yahaya, represented by the National Secretary, of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr. Achike Chude in his response, urged INEC to explore other means of funding to execute it’s numerous challenges.
“We understand that the INEC Chairman, having talked about the program for the rest of the year, the budget, which has been in the public space of about 40 billion that they have requested, and the fact that INEC believes that it is also not enough and they are asking for more, the reality is that we have always collaborated with INEC, also to bring their needs before the Nigerian public.
“But we would also say again that in view of the myriads of socioeconomic challenges that have confronted the Nigerian state today, we know that they are also looking for ways to make things a bit easier.
“But we cannot run away from our economic realities. And so if there are ways that they also can look at in-house to see how some of those things that have been done can be done perhaps a bit better in terms of the cost implications, taking in view the economic realities of drought in Nigeria, I think we would encourage them to do that.”
“The INEC Chairman also talked about the fact that every electoral process presents with new opportunities. And as these new opportunities arise, they have to be confronted with new responses. And so perhaps we will also look at the issue of using other processes for the purpose of even voting.
On the difficulty experienced in the production and application of voters cards, Mr Yahaya noted that the processes such as the people who possess national identity cards, international passports, driving licenses should be considered as alternative voter cards.
“Perhaps these are also things that they can also look at, as they look at other processes. So we are appreciative of everything that INEC has done.
“Of course, they can get better. There is no doubt that somewhere along the Nigerian people there themselves have also expressed the fact that they can do better. And that’s why they are always continually engaged in the process. He said.
