Electoral Offenders: INEC Debunks SERAP Allegation, Cites Constitutional Immunity For Deputy Governors

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rubbished allegations by the Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) accusing its chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu of flouting a court order regarding the prosecution of electoral offenders.

Naija News reports that SERAP had accused the Commission of failure to engage independent counsels to prosecute unnamed Governors and Deputy Governors for sundry violations of electoral laws.

It also accused the Commission of failing to engage private lawyers to prosecute other electoral offences, including vote buying during the same election

However, speaking via a statement on Wednesday, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun said Deputy Governors have constitutional immunity from prosecution and that SERAP cannot be unaware of this constitutional provision.

It added that in any case, it has no record that anyone of them has been arrested, investigated and a prima facie case established to initiate their prosecution.

The statement read in part, “Furthermore, if SERAP had done basic fact check, it would have known that at the end of the 2023 General Election, the Commission announced that it received 215 case files from the Nigeria Police following the arrest and investigation of alleged violators of the electoral laws across the country. These include 52 files involving 238 alleged offenders during the Presidential and National Assembly elections and 163 files in respect of 536 suspects for the Governorship and State Assembly elections.

“It is important to also inform the public that the Commission’s commitment to the prosecution of electoral offenders is not limited to persons who are outside the Commission. Indeed, officials of the Commission, some of them highly placed, have been affected, including a Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) currently being prosecuted in a High Court in Yola.

“Recognizing the need for their speedy prosecution and bearing in mind that the Commission does not have enough in-house lawyers, it engaged the Nigerian Bar Association NBA under the leadership of the immediate past President, Yakubu Maikyau SAN, for assistance. The NBA agreed, and a well-publicized joint press conference was held between the Chairman of the Commission and the President of the NBA. The Chairman of the Commission and other officials have also been providing updates to the public on the matter as simple google search will show.

“For the first time in the history of elections in Nigeria, concrete steps were taken between the NBA and the Commission to prosecute electoral offences. The NBA, working with a prominent and senior human rights lawyer, provided the Commission with a list of counsels nationwide, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria SANs, who volunteered to render pro-bono services.