Prioritise Electoral Crimes Prosecution, Group Tells Amupitan

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the newly nominated chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, to prioritise the effective prosecution of those responsible for electoral offences.

SERAP listed the crimes to include violence, bribery, vote-buying, conspiracy and undue influence during the general elections and off-cycle election.

Last week, President Bola Tinubu nominated Amupitan as the new INEC chair who was approved by the Council of State. The nominee, pending confirmation by the Senate, will succeed Mahmood Yakubu, who left the position last week, ahead of the official expiration of his second term of five years.
However, SERAP, in a statement signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said “Impunity for past electoral offences is a major barrier to free and fair elections in Nigeria. Mr Amupitan must demonstrate that INEC under his watch would not tolerate electoral offences in the country’s elections.

“Unless the legacy of impunity for these grave electoral offences is combated and perpetrators, especially high-ranking politicians and their sponsors are effectively prosecuted and voters provided with access to justice, those contemplating electoral crimes will feel unconstrained in future elections.”

The group lamented that violence and other infractions have marred the nation’s elections since 2015, urging Amupitan to “ensure that any reform of the Electoral Act includes provisions for the timely prosecution of electoral offences and access of voters to justice and effective remedies for violations of their fundamental rights.”

“The general elections and off-cycle elections conducted since 2015 have been characterised by grave electoral offences, including violence, bribery, vote-buying, conspiracy, and undue influence, making a mockery of INEC.

“High-ranking politicians and their sponsors are rarely brought to justice for electoral offences, reinforcing a culture of impunity for violations of Nigerians’ democratic rights.

“There cannot be a fair electoral process if the body managing the electoral process fails to ensure the effective investigation and prosecution of electoral offences and access of voters to justice and effective remedies.

“No right is more precious in a democratic society than that of having a voice in the election of those who govern the citizens, and other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if unresolved electoral offences are not thoroughly investigated and prosecuted, and voters are not provided with access to justice.”

It wants the commission’s chief to “prioritise the amendment of the Electoral Act 2022 to ensure the conduct of free and fair elections in 2027, in conformity with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international obligations.”

The organisation also urged him to “ensure that any reform of the Electoral Act includes provisions for the timely prosecution of electoral offences and access of voters to justice and effective remedies for violations of their fundamental rights.”