₦airaland Forum

• Sets up special unit to prosecute offenders
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has blamed political parties for the high incidence of court-nullified elections by nominating candidates who do not adhere to the rules and due diligence.

The chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said that as a result of the lack of due diligence, some of the parties have fielded ex-convicts and candidates with forged certificates for elections, thereby causing the elections to be nullified at the courts.

Yakubu, who promised to take steps to reduce the malfeasance during elections, said the commission would step up its partnership with civil society groups, especially in civic and voter education and election monitoring and observation.

Speaking at the formal presentation of INEC’s Strategic Plan for 2017-2021 to stakeholders on Tuesday in Abuja, Yakubu said the management of INEC has decided to set up a special prosecution unit staffed by trained prosecutors to facilitate prompt and more efficient prosecution of electoral offences.

On the monitoring of party primaries, Yakubu said the powers of the commission were limited under the present electoral law, adding that INEC is bound to accept any candidate submitted to it by the leadership of a political party to avoid running foul of the law.

However, the INEC boss took a swipe at the attitude of some of the political parties which he accused of not paying attention to due diligence in deciding on the choice of its candidates for election.

“If political parties had carried out the due diligence on their candidates, we will never have the kind of problems we have with numerous elections being nullified on account of improper conduct of party primaries.

“It has been observed that some parties have nominated persons such as ex-convicts as candidates and INEC has no power to rejects such candidates, only for the courts to nullify the elections after they have been conducted.

“Some have even nominated candidates with cases of certificate forgery, only for the court to nullify the elections,” he said.

On the relationship between INEC and the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), Yakubu said the commission has extended assistance to the state electoral bodies in the conduct of local government elections.

He gave examples of such collaborative ventures with SIECs in Lagos, Sokoto, Niger and Kaduna States, adding that whereas Sokoto has received assistance in deploying its card readers for the state’s local council polls, Kaduna State has expressed interest in going a step further by working with the commission in test-running the electronic voting initiative during its local council elections.

While lamenting the predicament of the commission, especially in curbing electoral malpractices and violence, Yakubu said that the commission has decided that in the absence of an enabling law establishing an electoral offenders’ tribunal, it would set up a special unit for the prosecution of offenders.

“In order to facilitate more effective prosecution, reduce impunity and enhance deterrence, the commission will establish a prosecution unit staffed by trained prosecutors to facilitate quicker and more efficient prosecution of electoral offences,” he said.

The INEC boss said so far, the commission in collaboration with the police and the Federal Ministry of Justice, has successfully prosecuted and convicted 61 electoral offenders out of 126 cases since the last general election in 2015.

He also commented on the actions taken against the commission’s staff indicted by the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) probe panels, saying that 23 officials had been placed on interdiction until their trial in court is concluded.

He said the affected staff were being prosecuted in court by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution.

“All the 23 affected staff have been placed on suspension and on half salary until they prove their innocence at the courts and we are going to do the same thing with the other 202 staff indicted by the EFCC who are still being investigated by the commission.

“While we continue with these efforts, my position has consistently been that it is very, very difficult for one to prosecute himself.

“INEC has been saddled with the responsibility for the prosecution of electoral offenders but look at the challenges we have.

“When you want to make arrests of electoral offenders, the commission has no police to make the arrest. Secondly, we have to investigate it so that you can have the evidence that will make for successful persecution.

“We have no powers under the law to conduct investigations, so how do we successfully prosecute?
“That is why I said consistently that this country needs a special electoral offences tribunal which every violator of the electoral law will be subjected to, be it INEC staff or any other person.

“This is the solution so that if you violate the electoral law, you would know that there will be justice for whoever is involved,” he stressed.

On the effort to enforce adherence to the rules by the political parties, the INEC boss said the commission would step up action on monitoring political party activities, especially candidates’ nominations and campaign finances in order to reduce the impunity perpetrated by the leadership of these parties.

In the same vein, the Inspector General of Police (IG) assured INEC that the Nigerian Police would do everything within their powers to check rigging and electoral violence in future elections in the country.

The IG, who was represented by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Oluwole Olakode, said that the police would collaborate more with INEC to weed out the bad eggs that continue to perpetrate electoral malpractices.

Earlier, while unveiling the electoral body’s five-year strategic plan titled, “Making Votes Count,” containing the roadmap and initiatives that the commission intends to implement between 2017 and 2021, INEC’s consultant, Otive Igbuzor, said that the careful implementation of the plan would pave the way for the smooth conduct of credible and transparent elections in 2019 and beyond.

A guest speaker at the event and the Director General of the Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, also urged the federal government to ensure adequate funding for INEC to enable it conduct credible elections.

According to Okechukwu, the only thing that can help deepen democracy in Nigeria is the ability of the electoral umpire to organise credible elections.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/04/05/inec-accuses-parties-of-fielding-ex-convicts-certificate-forgers/

all na from forex fraud.

i'm in calabar if i want to register my LLC frm here thru you how will i do it. or is it that when i pay the money everything will be taken care of, and the documents just delivered to me? And won't CAC come to inspect my business?

can somebody help me mention d name of the man who introduced dis automative policy.

15 billion dollars for just 4000 mega watts, i.e 3.7 billion dollars to produce just 1000mw. No wonder dis country is so bleeped up. NNPC are rogues

i stand with NLC on this one. A project that will add significantly to the GDP of the nation is been toiled with on the altar of politics.

gudnews for african football. no be only issa hayatou dey.OMG i just realized hayatou was d president of CAF even b4 i was born.

stonemasonn:
Kwankwaso is Hausa nah not Fulani.

Nevertheless atiku to me is more liberal than kwankwaso. we don't need a divisive figure as president.

why will d govt tamper with the funds meant for education while our politicians are feeding fat on complete salary and none taking a pay cut. ASSU i support una, atleast dis one make sense to strike for. A worker deserve his wage

hmmmmm. Atiku might win. Neva write him off. so many people wrote donald trump off when he started. For me if osinbanjo is not contesting den i'll vote atiku.

a very pertinent questions especially the question 3

i feel kwankoso is more of a bigot than atiku, he seems to carry dis fulani tin for head well well. so i'll prefer atiku to him

WhiteSoup:
Give me your better choices? Let's have their names.
Lamido&Amaechi Tinubu&Kalu Saraki&Ekweremadu Buhari&Osibanjo Tambuwal&Ngige Ribadu&Rochas
Please give me your combination.

Osinbanjo & Ribadu

WhiteSoup:
Give me your better choices? Let's have their names.
Lamido&Amaechi Tinubu&Kalu Saraki&Ekweremadu Buhari&Osibanjo Tambuwal&Ngige Ribadu&Rochas
Please give me your combination.

Atiku & peter obi

the biggest satan we should be busy fighting in this country is our govt. imagine no human sympathy when they're busy looting the treasury, meanwhile they r people dying due to this looting.
dear Lord wen u eventually position me in a leadership position of influence don't let greed, selfishness and gluttony enter my life. pls lord don't let me forget the people i'm meant to serve, may i constantly remember them and be in touch with realities as i make decisions everyday. Father dis is my earnest desire as i humbly yield my self for any leadership position you deem fit for me in this blessed country.

sell the useless refineries abeg.

God abeg save us frm dis illiterate leaders

they have started this stupid idea of looted funds that made us suffer in 2016.

shey dem bin sleep, wetin wake them up?

abeg help ask am wey the money dey? and yet we want borrow

state police will also provide employment opportunities as well. The bill for state police should be signed into law, any state that can afford it, should go for it. Any state that can't should rely on federal police alone.

a gud one dere frm prof ayade. Gradually state police will become a reality when the bill is signed into law by the federal law makers. Nobody can police us better than ourselves.

Cross River State Government and Huawei Technology of China, yesterday, signed a contract to make Calabar Nigeria’s first smart city.
Governor Ayade, who was excited at the development, said the execution of the contract would herald the full digitalization of Calabar and the entire state.
The governor, while commending the Chinese firm for being favourably disposed to doing business with the state, expressed gratitude to the company for offering to sponsor some aspects of the 2016 Carnival Calabar.
Ayade disclosed that the smart city project would ensure availability of cheap wifi services everywhere in Calabar.
“This will be the first time that data would be provided from the cloud. With this digital cloud, it will offer opportunity to get information with ease and comfort, including boosting research and academic works. The project which is in partnership with Huawei of China, the equipment manufacturer, with Sino Infrastructure Development company Limited as the technical partner in Nigeria for the project.
“This partnership will provide cheap access to connectivity. Cross Riverians will know that Huawei is bringing the best technology to us. They are a known name in the world and a pace setter in the industry. Cross River deserves only the best which they have to offer. The whole state is going digital as the Cross River super highway will have super-connectivity where all the best internet and technology services will be offered to users of the super highway,” he said.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/11/c-river-china-firm-sign-contract-make-calabar-nigerias-first-smart-city/

chai nuhu ribadu made a grave mistake joining APC.

them no dey even use calabar port, talkless of being over stretched.

OZAOEKPE:
i see the leader of AFONJAS in the person of tinubu aligning with ATIKU, fact shows that even the north is not happy with buhari(ani mal on the throne), he has a big chance to settle the rift in PDP and forge ahead to make things work fine....

yep i c the two of them joining forces together, but i see atiku joining the PDP, and Tinubu supporting him indirectly frm APC as he may not likely decamp to save face, he will just tag along and sabotage them frm within in support of Atiku. Since buhari and his cohort elrufai have already hijacked APC, i don't see atiku contesting under that platform.

OZAOEKPE:
Only ATIKU can do it

yep atiku is the best option frm the north currently, none other come close. PDP should court him now and give him the ticket. the tide seems to be in his favour now to become the next president. and i feel after him, an igbo man might emerge next as the president thanks to so many of buhari's gaffes. thats my prediction. but the vice should come frm the east. one of ngozi, peter obi, soludo, or ekweremadu and not ruling out obiano too. mind you am frm cross river state and not an igbo person before they tag me ipob o.

KingsleyJohn:
Its time to vote a technocrat... a renowned businessman. Atiku has done justice to Nigeria through his philanthropy and service. We appreciate that , but we must understand he was Obj VP, and he is over 70yrs. Let's try something new... PETER OBI/ JIMI AGBAJE 2019

Nuhu ribadu would have been a gud alternative and a breath of fresh air. but he made a huge political blunder by decamping to APC. he should have just sit it out and battle it in PDP and make himself more visible in the polity now, as so many things are going wrong. probably he has no interest in becoming the president. So to me i will go with Atiku instead of buhari or el rufai.

we've not felt anything positive at all from dis president.

ephi123:
Real horror. It is one bad thing after the other. Just last week I heard of over 10 people in the same dept asked to leave, no notice. These are people with families and dependents.

this administration is like horror movie full of graphic scenes.

chai, wey nuhu ribadu for remain for PDP na him for be flag bearer o.

i beg help me tell this man say corruption no go give us food.