The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has advocated the establishment of an electoral offenders’ tribunal to prosecute those who committed various offences in the just concluded 2019 general elections.
International and Independent observers had reported that the 2019 general elections in Nigeria were marred by violence, vote-buying and intimidation of opposition supporters in several states across the country.
The violence was particularly wide spread in some Southern states such as Rivers and Lagos.
Agitation among stakeholders and opposition political parties increased in recent weeks for the prosecution of the perpetuators of violence and vote buying in the general elections.
Speaking in an interview with BusinessDay, Monday, Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and chairman of the commission’s committee on information and voter education, said that such tribunal was necessary because it would be more professional in the prosecution of electoral offenders than the current practices.
“We need such tribunal now even more than before, because it can take direct control of prosecution of electoral offenders. We are still waiting for a report from the Police, on the people arrested and investigated in the 2019 general elections, before we can prosecute,” Okoye said by phone.
“Currently it is the Police Force that arrest and investigate electoral offenders, after that INEC now joins hands with them and prosecute. But if there was an electoral offenders’ tribunal they would be more profession in their work.”
The INEC commissioner further added that the commission would begin the review of the conduct of the 2019 general elections, stressing that it was after the review that actions would be further taken on the conduct of the gubernatorial elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States.
