The prosecution of electoral offenders who were detained in 35 states during the nationwide general election is set to begin shortly, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to the commission source, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the police will work together to prosecute the 1,076 electoral offenders. 191 case files have been created for the prosecution, the source told NAN.
Yakubu Maikyau, the president of the NBA, announced that 191 attorneys, including 16 senior advocates of Nigeria (SAN), have consented to take on cases in the different states at no cost.
According to a breakdown of the cases by state, Ebonyi leads the list with 64 instances involving 216 suspects. Anambra is in third place with 12 cases involving 66 suspects, while Edo is in second place with 22 cases and 80 suspects.
Adamawa is in fifth place with 10 cases and 17 suspects, while Kaduna is in fourth place with 11 cases and 36 suspects. In a similar vein, Yobe has the fewest cases—just one case file involving two suspects—while Kano, Rivers, and Osun states tie for fifth place with nine cases apiece, including 74, 68, and 47 suspects.
Election-related offences include negligent killing, illegal gun ownership, pilfering and damaging INEC supplies, misbehaviour at polling places, and more.
The NBA returned 26 case files to the commission so they could be forwarded to the police, according to the chief press secretary to INEC chairman Rotimi Oyekanmi. According to him, the offences do not qualify as electoral offences under the terms of the Electoral Act of 2022.
He claims that the panel is also aware that there are 22 situations where the accused are either at large or were never caught. “The suspects linked to the case files are in custody, they have been investigated and the necessary evidence against them harvested.”
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