SERAP, ActionAid demand INEC’s prosecution of bribery offences against govs, deputies

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to immediately and effectively enforce the judgment ordering INEC to pursue cases of bribery against state governors and their deputies, and other electoral offences committed during the 2023 General Elections.

The judgment was delivered on July 18, 2024, by Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu following a lawsuit brought by SERAP in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/583 /2023.

Justice Egwuatu ordered INEC to seek the appointment of independent counsel to investigate allegations of electoral offences including bribery, vote-buying, conspiracy, and undue influence against state governors and their deputies during the 2023 General Elections.

The court also ordered INEC to promptly, thoroughly and effectively investigate reports of electoral violence and other electoral offences committed during the elections, identify suspected perpetrators and their sponsors and ensure effective prosecution.

The court further ordered INEC to prosecute all arrested electoral offenders in the 2023 General Election in the custody of the Nigeria Police Force, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission and other law enforcement agencies.

In a letter at the weekend, signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said it was unacceptable for INEC to take the court, which is the guardian of justice in the country, for a ride.

MEANWHILE, ActionAid Nigeria has expressed worry that Nigerians are losing confidence in the electoral and judicial process, warning that the country is building a castle of anarchy.

The Country Director of ActionAid, Andrew Mamedu, while speaking at a forum on Effective and Efficient Post Election Justice Delivery in Nigeria at the weekend in Abuja, said: “If you look at countries that have had coups in the past, this was how things started and the military came and took over. For us in ActionAid, we don’t want it to get to that level; that is why we are sounding the alarm and raising the consciousness of relevant stakeholders.”

He said the greatest threat to democracy was the political class, describing an average politician as selfish and greedy.

“The politicians are concerned about the next election, just like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu extending the tenure of the Inspector General of Police so that he will be able supervise the next election. It is important to focus on the Judiciary so that they can actually be the ‘last hope of the common man’s,” he stated.

Mamedu said the roundtable discussion with stakeholders involved in post election judicial process was in recognition of complaints by citizens of losing trust in the judicial process, saying the aim of the project was to restore the confidence of Nigerians in the judicial process.