Kehinde Fajobi
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has renewed calls for an electoral offenses tribunal, citing delays in prosecuting election-related crimes.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday, INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu said the backlog of cases remains a major challenge due to the absence of a specialised tribunal.
“A major obstacle to the speedy dispensation of justice in this regard is that electoral offences are not time-bound as is the case with post-election offences through the tribunals,” Yakubu said.
He explained that electoral offenses are handled by magistrate and state high courts, which prioritise other cases, leading to delays that sometimes span multiple election cycles.
“It is therefore imperative to renew our call for the creation of the Electoral Offences Tribunal that have a specific jurisdiction and limited timeframe for the speedy dispensation of cases,” he added.
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Yakubu cited a recent example of a returning officer convicted in Akwa Ibom after six years, highlighting the slow pace of justice.
“The Commission has been diligently pursuing the case which arose from the 2019 General Election. In this particular case, it took nearly six years to achieve the successful prosecution at the trial court,” he noted.
INEC, in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), is currently prosecuting 774 alleged offenders from the 2023 elections. While successful convictions have been recorded in Kebbi, Kogi, Lagos, Kwara, and Gombe states, Yakubu said many cases remain unresolved.