Over 200 persons have been arrested for various electoral offences during the just concluded general elections in Nigeria.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it will prosecute the offenders.
The Nigeria Police Force has transferred over 50 case files of electoral offences to INEC.
According to Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, the commission has directed its Litigation and Prosecution Department to study the files and advise it on the prosecution.
He also stated that the department has already started working on the case files and will revert to the commission as soon as it finishes.
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, had directed commissioners of police in charge of state commands to ensure investigation in all cases of violation of the Electoral Act during the February 25, 2023 presidential and National Assembly polls.
He also directed them to swiftly conclude investigation and forward the case files to INEC for prosecution.
On March 14, the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, announced that the commission was setting up a legal team to deal with cases of electoral offenders during the February 25 presidential and National Assembly polls.
Baba further directed that all electoral offences case files should be submitted to the Commissioner of Police in charge of the legal unit.
This, according to him, is to enable central collation and coordinated processing to the legal unit of INEC preparatory to the commencement of the prosecution process.
He gave an assurance that the Nigeria Police Force would collaborate with the INEC leadership in ensuring that all electoral offenders were expeditiously and transparently prosecuted not only in the interest of criminal justice, but in furtherance of the police’s vision of sanitising its electoral space.
The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, had earlier decried the widespread electoral malpractices that characterized the 2023 general elections.
He called for the prosecution of all electoral offenders to serve as a deterrent to others.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
