Senate passes Electoral Offences Commission Bill, okays 20-year jail term for ballot snatchers... The Senate on Tuesday (13th July, 2021) passed a bill seeking to establish the Electoral Offences Commission.
Titled “National Electoral Offences Commission Bill, 2021,” the bill prohibits any campaign against national interest.
The passage of the bill followed the consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Chairman of the committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano South), in his presentation, said the bill became imperative in view of INEC’s inability to prosecute electoral offenders in accordance with the provisions of a section 149 and 150(2) of the Electoral Act (as Amended).
“By the foregoing statistics, it is unrealistic to expect INEC to conduct free, fair and credible election and simultaneously prosecute Offences arising from the same elections.
“Indeed, INEC has at several occasions admitted that it lacks the wherewithal to cleanse the system.
“Its failure to prosecute even one percent 870,000 and over 900,000 alleged electoral Offences in 2011 and 2015 general elections respectively is an affirmation of the necessity for a paradigm shift on how we deal with electoral offences”, he said.
Accordingly, the Senate during consideration of the INEC committee report approved the establishment of the National Electoral Offences Commission.
The commission’s membership consists of the Chairman, Secretary and representatives from the Justice, Interior, Defence, and Information Ministries.
The function of the Commission includes investigating electoral Offences created in any laws relating to elections in Nigeria; prosecution of electoral offenders; and maintaining records of all persons investigated and prosecuted etc.
The Senate in Clause 12 of the bill approved at least five years imprisonment or a fine of at least N10 million or both, for any officer or executives of any association or political party that engages in electoral fraud that contravenes the provisions of clauses 221, 225(1)(2)(3) and (4) and 227 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
It also gave the nod for at least 10 years imprisonment or at least 20 million naira fine or both for any person who uses hate speech to stir up ethnic, religious or racial hatred, social or political insecurity or violence against anyone or group of persons.
It also adopted the committee’s recommendation of 15 years imprisonment for any person involved in ballot box snatching, supplying voter’s card to persons without due authority, unauthorized printing of voters’ register, illegal printing of ballot paper or electoral document, and importation of any device or mechanism by which ballot paper or results of elections may be extracted, affected or manipulated, and voting at an election when he is not entitled to vote.
Also approved as recommended by the committee, is 10 years imprisonment for any person who sells voter’s card, or in possession of any voter’s card bearing the name of another person, or prepares and prints a document or paper purporting to be a register of voters or a voter’s card.
The Senate also gave its nod to a term of at least ten years upon conviction for any election official who wilfully prevents any person from voting at the polling station, wilfully rejects or refuses to count any ballot paper validly cast, wilfully counts any ballot paper not validly cast, gives false evidence or withholds evidence, and announces or declares a false result at an election.
The upper chamber, in Clause 20(2), approved at least fifteen years imprisonment for any judicial officer or officer of a court or tribunal who corruptly perverts electoral justice, during or after an election.
It also gave at least fifteen-year jail term or N30 million fine for any security personnel or election official engaged by the Independent National Electoral Commission or State Electoral Commission who attempts to influence the outcome of an election.
In addition, any person found to disturb the public peace on Election Day by playing musical instruments, singing or holding an assembly where a polling station is located shall be guilty of breaching electoral peace and liable to six months imprisonment or a fine of at least N100,000 or both.
Also, any person acting for himself or on behalf of any organization or political party or candidate or his agent with the intention of prejudicing the result of an election, damage or defame, in any manner, the character of any candidate in an election or his family member by making, saying, printing, airing or publishing in the print or electronic media false accusation on any matter shall be guilty of serious corrupt practice and liable on conviction to a term of at least ten years or a fine of ten million naira or both.
Any person soliciting or giving votes for or against any political party or candidate at an election, or found to affix campaign materials on any private house, public buildings or structures, or prints posters and banners without the name and address of the political party to which the candidate or person belongs contravenes sub-clause (1) to (5) and guilty of an offence and liable to at least five years or a fine of at least ten million naira, or both.
It provides a twenty years jail term without option of fine for any person who propagates information that undermines the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, or unity of the federation.
Also, any candidate or agent who damages or snatches ballot boxes, ballot papers or election materials before, during and after an election without the permission of election official in charge of the polling station attracts at least twenty years imprisonment or a fine of at least forty million naira.
The Senate approved at least fifteen years imprisonment for any person who conveys voters to and from the poll; and three years imprisonment for any employee who directly or indirectly exerts undue influence on a voter in his employ.
The upper chamber approved three years and not more than five years imprisonment for any person who provide false information in any material particular to a public officer. Source: https://www.blueprint.ng/senate-passes-electoral-offences-commission-bill-okays-20-year-jail-term-for-ballot-snatchers/ |
