Following the 2023 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, NBA, and the Police are set to prosecute over 1,076 electoral offenders across 35 states.
Emerging details indicate that INEC and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will jointly handle 18 case files related to financial crimes committed during the 2023 elections.
Also, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has forwarded one case file to INEC about the polls.
A breakdown by state distribution from the 191 prepared case files indicates that Ebonyi has the highest number of cases at 64, involving 216 suspects
Edo State follows as the second with 22 cases and 80 suspects, while Anambra secures the third position with 12 cases involving 66 suspects.
Similarly, Kaduna holds the fourth position with 11 cases and 36 suspects; Adamawa follows as the fifth with 10 cases and 17 suspects.
Meanwhile, Kano, Rivers, and Osun state jointly occupy the fifth position with nine cases each, involving 74, 68, and 47 suspects, respectively.
Yobe State occupies the bottom of the table with only one case file implicating two suspects.
The electoral offenses committed range from “culpable homicide and unlawful possession of firearms”, “snatching and destroying of INEC items,” “having offensive weapons”, and “Misconduct at the polling unit and stealing of election results” among several others.
During a recent visit to INEC chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, NBA President Mr. Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, pledged that NBA members would offer pro bono legal services for the prosecution of electoral offenders as a part of their patriotic duty to their fatherland.
“In fulfillment of that pledge, Maikyau in a recent letter to Prof. Yakubu, listed 191 lawyers, including 16 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, that have accepted to take up cases in the various states free of charge, with the assistance of the Police and INEC for diligent prosecution.
“The suspects linked to the case files are in custody, they have been investigated and the necessary evidence against them harvested,” said a top official of the commission.
Confirming the development yesterday, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, described it as an unprecedented collaboration involving INEC, NBA, and the Nigeria Police.
He stated that letters of authority have been prepared and will be promptly issued to the NBA team, enabling them to initiate proceedings on all the cases as soon as possible.
However, he explained that the NBA returned 26 case files to the commission for onward transmission to the Police, as the offenses involved did not fall under electoral offenses as defined by the Electoral Act 2022.
“Besides, suspects involved in 22 out of the cases are either at large or were never apprehended,” he stated.
Kanyi Daily recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had warned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over libelous allegations against Mahmood Yakubu.
