BY OKEY NDIRIBE

ABUJA – The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, announced yesterday that it has successfully prosecuted and secured conviction of 24 electoral offenders since the  2011 general elections.

Mr Kayode Idowu, Chief Press Secretary, to the Chairman of the Commission Prof. Attahiru Jega, who disclosed this in a statement said 321 cases have  so far been taken up for prosecution by the Commission while the courts dismissed 21 of them.

Idowu also disclosed that among those that were arraigned by INEC for committing electoral offences was the head of its ICT unit in Oyo State who was accused of using direct data capture machines for illicit registration of persons during the last voter registration exercise.

The statement also cited how the Commission dragged one of its indicted officials in Osun State before a court while disciplinary measures were also taken against staff that were implicated in the Appeal Court verdict on the 2007 Ekiti State governorship election.

He further pointed out that   there were three levels to the prosecution of electoral offenders in the country.

According to the statement: “One level is the investigation of suspects to generate useful evidence, which falls within the purview of the Police. Another level is the prosecution in court, which the Electoral Act vests INEC with responsibility to undertake. The third level is the trial processes, the determination of which rests entirely with the Judiciary.”

Idowu also observed that INEC could only work in concert with the other levels to conclusively prosecute electoral offenders in the courts.

He cited the case of a suspect caught with about 100 voter cards in Anambra State in 2010 which is still pending in court.

The Chairman further recalled that before the April elections, the Commission’s  lawyers had to contend with series of litigations that arose from the nomination of candidates by political parties, adding that since the elections ended, they have been preoccupied with petitions at the election tribunals.

He explained that it was for this reason that the Commission has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, which it believes will be useful to fast-track prosecutions.

According to him: “That is also why the Commission has consistently advocated the need for the authorities to revisit a proposal by the Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais Panel for the creation of an electoral offences tribunal”