Still On Prosecution Of Electoral Offenders

Last week, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it had received 215 case files from the Nigerian Police in respect of electoral infractions during the 2023 general elections.

INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at a meeting with states Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to commence review of the general election, said the commission is working with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to prosecute the electoral offenders.

The body of lawyers has provided 427 lawyers to help prosecute the cases free of charge.

Yakubu also said the commission had received the police report on the suspended Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Yunusa Ari, saying INEC would soon take appropriate actions against him.

The infamous Adamawa REC has since become the face of all that is wrong with the recruitment processes for who serves in the electoral commission.

Before Yakubu’s disclosure on the number of those to be prosecuted, former Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, had disclosed that 781 suspected electoral offenders were arrested in connection with the February 25 and March 18 general elections.

He revealed that 185 infractions took place during the presidential and National Assembly polls, leading to the arrest of 203 persons. On the March 18 governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections, a total of 304 electoral breaches were recorded and 578 persons were apprehended.

These figures reflect the intensity of the last general election, an exercise marred by pockets of violence and political malfeasance by the political class in their desperate attempt to claim or retain power.

A report from the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) showed that there were 109 deaths in election-related violence between January and March 10.

Although, it is nowhere near the horrendous killing of about 800 people in the 2011 post-election violence (a three days of rioting in 12 states across northern Nigeria — the worst case so far in the country’s political history), many would have thought political actors would be more sober in instigating the electoral field.

We had thought a lot of progress was made during and after the general elections of 2015 during which more than 100 people lost their lives, according to the International Crisis Group. Recently, the European Union Election Observation Mission said about 150 people were killed due to violence linked to the last national elections of 2019.

After the 2019 election, the then Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muhammed Adamu, said 58 suspected high profile electoral offenders were arrested during the 2019 general elections.

Adamu, represented by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Operations, Abdulmajid Ali, during INEC’s review of the 2019 general elections with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), said 39 of the 58 suspects had been conclusively investigated and charged to courts while 19 were still being investigated.

Abuses committed by suspects fall under about 62 offences in the Electoral Act, with specific sanctions, ranging from fines of N500,000 to N50 million, alongside six-month to 10-year jail terms, depending on the gravity of the offence committed.

According to the law, destruction of ballot boxes, snatching of result sheets, unauthorised access to electoral materials, buying of voter-cards, bribery, impersonation and forgery attract various jail terms, fines, or a combination of these punishments.

Other electoral transgressions include possession of offensive weapons and false result declaration by an electoral official. A returning officer or collation officer who makes a false return could face a maximum of three years in prison.

As the trial of suspects begins, it goes without saying that prompt prosecution matters. The need for deterrence has never been more imperative. Over the years, the failure to swiftly and conclusively address crime has resulted in a culture of impunity, especially among the political elite.

Lamentably, despite the increased deployment of technology over the years, the political class has continued to seek ways to beat the system, including stretching deviousness beyond the minimum and threatening our quest for a mature nationhood.

We see this prosecution process as yet another opportunity to send a strong message to those who are bent on sabotaging our system for selfish benefits.

The judiciary has a major role in this regard. Its ability to come down hard on political rascals, who wreak so much havoc on our system, will be key.