The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) responded on Wednesday to claims made by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) about the treatment of electoral crimes in the 2023 general elections.
On Sunday, SERAP said that INEC had failed to prosecute many electoral offenders, including governors and deputy governors, and had not sought independent counsel in other situations of election malpractice, like vote-buying.
In a press statement signed by National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education, Sam Olumekun, INEC countered these claims, clarifying that governors and deputy governors are protected from prosecution by constitutional immunity and that the commission has no records of any such officials being investigated or charged for election-related offences.
“Our attention has been drawn to media reports attributed to the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project accusing the Commission of failure or neglect in prosecuting electoral offenders arising from the 2023 general election.
“These allegations are untrue and fly in the face of facts already in the public domain. In the first place, governors and deputy governors have constitutional immunity from prosecution.
“SERAP cannot be unaware of this constitutional provision. In any case, the Commission has no record that any of them has been arrested, investigated, or that a prima facie case has been established to initiate their prosecution,” the statement read in part.
INEC acknowledged that it received 215 police case files involving 238 individuals during the presidential and national assembly elections, as well as 536 suspects during the gubernatorial and state assembly elections.
The commission stated that the prosecutions include several of its officers, including a resident Electoral Commissioner who is currently on trial in Yola.
“Furthermore, if SERAP had done a basic fact check, it would have known that at the end of the 2023 General Election, the Commission announced that it received 215 case files from the Nigeria Police following the arrest and investigation of alleged violators of the electoral laws across the country.
“These include 52 files involving 238 alleged offenders during the presidential and national assembly elections and 163 files for 536 suspects from the governorship and state assembly elections.
“It is important to also inform the public that the Commission’s commitment to the prosecution of electoral offenders is not limited to persons outside the Commission.
“Indeed, officials of the Commission, some of them highly placed, have been affected, including a resident electoral commissioner currently being prosecuted in a high court in Yola,” Olumekun said.
In an unusual attempt to ensure successful prosecution, INEC collaborated with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), allowing private lawyers, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria, to represent INEC pro gratis.
The commission noted that the collaboration has already resulted in successful convictions in Kebbi and Kogi states.
“Recognising the need for their speedy prosecution and bearing in mind that the Commission does not have enough in-house lawyers, it engaged the Nigerian Bar Association under the leadership of the immediate past President, Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, for assistance.
“The NBA agreed, and a well-publicised joint press conference was held between the Chairman of the Commission and the President of the NBA.
“The Chairman of the Commission and other officials have also been providing updates to the public on the matter, as a simple Google search will show,” the statement continued.
The statement further stated that INEC has been collaborating with anti-corruption agencies, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), to address and punish cases of vote-buying.
A collaborative prosecution team of 18 lawyers from the EFCC and INEC has purportedly obtained convictions in Lagos, Gombe, and Kwara states.
INEC acknowledged the slow pace of electoral crime prosecutions, explaining that, unlike election-related issues, electoral offences do not have specified timelines.
Such cases are prosecuted in the jurisdiction where the crimes happened, which typically results in protracted judicial hearings.
This, according to INEC, underscored the need for electoral reform, including establishing an Electoral Offences Tribunal with time-bound mandates for quicker resolution of cases.
“Specifically, a special joint prosecution team of 18 lawyers drawn from the EFCC and INEC was set up to prosecute suspects. Through this joint effort, successful prosecutions have so far been recorded in Lagos, Gombe, and Kwara States.
“The prosecution of electoral offences is very slow for the simple reason that electoral offences are not time-bound, unlike pre-election and post-election cases, which must be determined within 180 days at the trial court/tribunal and a maximum of 60 days at each layer of appeal.
“Furthermore, under Section 145(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, electoral offences are prosecuted in the jurisdiction where the alleged offence is committed and by the state judiciary. Some cases can go on for several years,” INEC explained.
The electoral umpire reiterated its call for legal reforms to enhance the efficiency and speed of prosecuting electoral offences.
“That is why the Commission has been at the forefront of advocating for electoral reform to make electoral offences time-bound for the speedy prosecution of electoral offenders, including the establishment of an Electoral Offences Tribunal,” it said.
The Commission assured Nigerians of its ongoing commitment to upholding the electoral process and encouraged SERAP to verify available facts before making further allegations.
