Entrepreneurng.com, out of the 774 people detained for various electoral offenses by the Nigeria Police Force during the general elections of 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared it would prosecute the 215 case files on its docket.
This was said by Yakubu Mahmoud, the chairman of INEC, while being represented by Nasara Auta, the deputy director of prosecution for INEC, at the National Human Rights Commission’s monthly review forum on human rights and the 2023 elections.
Mahmoud mentioned that the Inspector General of Police recently sent 215 case files on electoral crimes to the commission for prosecution of the culprits, in acknowledgement of INEC’s legal authority to prosecute electoral offenses.
In order to effectively prosecute electoral offenders detained during the general election of 2023, he claimed that the commission was working with the Nigerian Bar Association.
Dereliction of duty, criminal conspiracy, unruly conduct during an election, weapon possession, destruction of election materials, political thuggery, electoral violence, snatching of ballot boxes, theft of sensitive election materials, and other offenses are among the many reasons for arrest.
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Ahmed Audi, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps’ Commandant General, reaffirmed that the Corps would continue to carry out its duties in a professional and dedicated manner via the command of the NSCDC’s Election Monitoring Unit, Fatima-Binta Ilesanmi.
She urged the NHRC to take its time prosecuting those who violated the nation’s election and human rights laws in order to enhance the democracy there. She also emphasized that victims should receive justice regardless of the political, cultural, and religious connections of the offenders.
In the meantime, the National Human Rights Commission has demanded the detention and prosecution of individuals accountable for the assault on Prof. Abdullahi Zuru, a former vice chancellor of the University of Sokoto, in Adamawa State on April 25 during the state’s rerun election.
Hillary Ogbonna, the commission’s MOVE project coordinator, urged the appropriate authorities to make sure that those guilty for the attack were held accountable.
As the National Commissioner from the North-West assigned to the state for the governorship election, Prof. Zuru was attacked by a mob in Adamawa State on April 17 while on electoral duty.
I’m conclusion, the actions of Ari Hudu, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Adamawa state, violated the collective rights of voters in the state, in Ogbonna’s opinion, and he should be forced to suffer the full force of the law.
Source: Punch
