2023 Polls: We’re Are Prosecuting 774 Offenders – INEC

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), cases involving 774 alleged offenders from the 2023 general elections are being prosecuted.

The electoral umpire said, so far, successful prosecutions had been recorded in Kebbi and Kogi States while its collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on vote-buying yielded similar results in Lagos, Kwara and Gombe states, though many cases were still pending.

INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at the first regular consultative meeting of the commission with media organisations in Abuja.

Yakubu said the recent successful prosecution of a returning officer in Akwa Ibom State was a proof of INEC’s commitment to improving on the electoral process, especially the prosecution of electoral offenders.

He said a major obstacle to the speedy dispensation of justice in this regard was that electoral offences were not time-bound as is the case with post-election offences through the tribunals while the cases were solely prosecuted by the magistrate and state high courts in the jurisdiction where the alleged offences are committed.

Yakubu said as a result, electoral offences are carried over from one general election to another which may sometimes affect the diligent prosecution of the cases.

He reiterated the call for the creation of the Electoral Offences Tribunal that will have a specific jurisdiction as well as limited timeframe for the speedy dispensation of cases and urged the media to join in this patriotic advocacy for the good of Nigeria’s electoral democracy.

“I want to reassure you of our commitment to continuously improve on the electoral process. Every election or electoral activity presents its own unique challenge and an opportunity to learn lessons for improvement.

“We will strive harder to ensure the continuous improvement of our elections. However, being a multi-stakeholder responsibility, we appeal for the continuous support of all and sundry, especially in critical areas of reform.

“One of these areas of reform is the prosecution of electoral offenders. Judicial and legislative actions in the last few days underscore our efforts to deal with offences involving officials of the commission assigned to carry out designated responsibilities. However, it also highlights the challenges we face in dealing with electoral offences.

“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.

“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,” Yakubu stated.

He also reminded the media houses that the commission had released the timetable and schedule of activities for the Anambra State governorship election to be held on November 8, 2025 while party primaries begin next month.

Yakubu said INEC equally released the timetable and schedule of activities for the Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) holding on February 21, 2026, noting that most of the major activities for the election will be held this year, including party primaries.

“In addition to the end-of-tenure elections, there is an increasing number of bye-elections to be conducted. In the last three weeks alone, vacancies have occurred in one Federal Constituency and two State Constituencies caused by the death of serving members.

“In another state constituency (Zamfara), the state Assembly declared the seat vacant as a result of absenteeism, following the prolonged absence of the member from sittings of the House in violation of Section 109(1)[f] of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended),” he added.

In his remarks, the President, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Hassan Yahaya, said it was a matter of duty and obligation for the union to collaborate with INEC to succeed in the interest of the country.

Represented by the NUJ national secretary, Achike Chude, the NUJ president called on the National Assembly to provide the legislative interventions to improve the country’s electoral process, especially the prosecution of offenders.