By Richard Ihediwa and Lawrence Olaoye
The Independent National
Electoral Commission
(INEC) yesterday disclosed that it has succeeded in ensuring the conviction of 24 electoral offenders linked with the April general elections.
According to the Chief Press Secretary of the Commission, Kayode Idowu, the disclosure became necessary so as to correct insinuations in some quarters that the INEC had abandoned the prosecution of electoral offenders.
Idowu, in a statement made available to newsmen said the convictions were recorded out of 321 cases filed in courts across the country. He however added that some other cases are at different stages of prosecution.
The INEC spokesperson, in a letter addressed to the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) and made available to newsmen, in response to the group’s allegation that no staff of the Commission had been brought to trial for alleged criminal act, stated that the INEC arraigned the head of its ICT in Oyo state as well as another indicted official in Osun state for their crimes during the January/February registration exercise.
“The Commission has taken other indicted officials to court – in its Osun state office, for instance, while disciplinary measures have been taken against staff members that were implicated in the Appeal Court verdict on the 2007 Ekiti state governorship election,” he declared.
Idowu clarified that there were three levels involved in the prosecution process of the electoral offenders and none could be independent of the other.
He said, “It is important to note that there are three levels to the prosecution of electoral offenders. One level is the investigation/interrogation of suspects to generate useful evidences, which falls within the purview of the Police. Another is the prosecution in court, which the Electoral Act vests INEC with responsibility to undertake. The third level is the trial processes, the determination of which rests entirely with the Judiciary.”
The INEC spokesperson asserted: “Contrary to claims in your press statement, INEC is in harmonious working relationship with the Police on the prosecution of electoral offenders and there is no reason for buck-passing. The point remains, however, that it is not entirely up to INEC to conclusively bring electoral offenders to justice.”
He however acknowledged the limitations faced by the Commission in the prosecution of electoral offenders, but disclosed that the INEC has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in order to fast-track the prosecution of electoral crimes suspects.
He said the plethora of pending electoral cases necessitated the call for the revisit of the Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais Panel’s reports for the creation of Electoral Offences Tribunal.
While identifying with the concerns of the TMG on the need to dissuade impunity by the delay in the trial of electoral offenders, the INEC spokesperson pointed out that, out of 321 cases so far taken up for prosecution by the Commission, 24 convictions have been secured while the courts, in their wisdom, have discharged 21 cases.
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