SAHARA REPORTERS
A group under the umbrella of Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), has demanded the arrest and prosecution of all electoral offenders in the 2023 general elections held on Saturday, February 25, 2023.
The group led, by the human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, said it learnt that anti-democratic elements allegedly committed electoral offences during Saturday elections, including money laundering, financial inducement of voters, snatching of BVAS machines, destruction of ballot papers, manipulation of election results, and violent attack on voters by thugs.
Others include ballot box snatching, forgery of election results, improper use of voter cards, impersonation, underage voting, dereliction of duty by electoral officers or polling agents of political parties, bribery and conspiracy and violation of the requirement for secrecy in voting, amongst others.
ASCAB in a statement signed by its Chairman, Femi Falana (SAN) said, “In order to deal with electoral offences committed during elections in Nigeria, the Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reform Panel had recommended the setting up of the Electoral Offences Commission. The recommendation was ignored by the political class.
“But due to pressure mounted on the National Assembly by progressive civil society groups, the Senate passed the Electoral Offences Commission Bill in July 2021. Up till now, the members of the House of Representatives, the Bill have refused to pass the Bill for undisclosed reasons.”
The group noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is empowered by section 145 of the Electoral Act, 2022 to prosecute electoral offenders but the commission has said that it cannot combine the conduct of elections with the trial of electoral offenders…
