Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says tribunals will
continue to determine the outcome of elections in Nigeria if electoral
offenders are not “severely” sanctioned.
Falana asked the national assembly to amend the Electoral
Act of 2022 for the establishment of an electoral offences commission to arrest
and prosecute offenders.
In a statement on Thursday, the human rights lawyer
commended the collaboration between the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for the prosecution of
electoral offenders.
Recently, INEC announced that 191 case files of electoral offenders
in the last elections have been prepared for prosecution.
For the prosecution, 191 lawyers, including 16 senior
advocates of Nigeria (SAN) have agreed to take up cases free of charge.
Reacting to the development, Falana asked police and other
security agencies to fast-track the probe of suspected electoral offenders
arrested during the off-cycle elections.
“It is by ensuring the successful prosecution of the
electoral offenders that Nigeria can put an end to the brazen manipulation of
the democratic process by members of the political class and their cohorts,” he
said.
“However, since this
is an ad hoc arrangement, we urge the two houses of the national assembly to
amend the Electoral Act 2022 to empower the federal government to establish an
electoral offences commission to arrest, investigate and prosecute all electoral
offenders in line with the recommendation of the Mohammed Uwais Electoral
Reform Panel.
“The legislators should realise that unless electoral
offenders are severely sanctioned, election results will continue to be
determined by election petition tribunals and the courts.”
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