Minor voters: Court gives INEC 90 days to hand over prosecution officials
A Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to identify within 90 days the officials involved in registering minors during the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise at polling stations across the country. commanded.
In his judgment, Justice Obiola Egwatu directed that the culprits be identified and handed over to appropriate law enforcement agencies for investigation and possible prosecution.
Justice Egwatu also issued a compulsory order, directing INEC to collect all underage voters in each voting unit of the federation as identified and summarized by the petitioner in “Exhibit A” and published on the federation’s website. It forced names to be immediately removed from voter registries nationwide. ” attached to the affidavit supporting the original summons.
The judge also issued a mandatory order directing the commission to provide plaintiffs with a clean copy of the National Voter Register (CTC) of every person eligible to vote in Nigeria within 90 days. I forced it.
Alternatively, he ordered the election tribunal to publish on its website a compiled national voter registry of everyone eligible to vote in the country within 90 days of the date of the ruling.
He also answered in the affirmative the six questions posed by the plaintiff.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has learned that the plaintiff, Pastor Mike Agbon, in the first summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/367/2023 filed on March 17th through his lawyer, Desmond Yama, has filed a complaint against INEC It was reported that this was the only lawsuit filed. defendant.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs asked whether “the defendants are constitutionally and legally obligated to conduct a reliable CVR in the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” and “whether the Constitution and its implementing laws are the defendants, the Electoral Act, and the Electoral Act by 2022. and act in strict compliance with the provisions of the Constitution and the laws implementing it.
“Whether or not under Section 23 of the Elections Act 2022, it is unlawful and unlawful for the defendant to register minors, i.e. infants and young children, during the CVR.
“The Defendant's admission that the voter rolls contain a significant number of minor, illegal and illegible voters falls within the ambit of the law on registration of minors contained in Articles 12 and 23. Whether the defendant is exempt from any sanctions under the Elections Act 2022, etc.
Therefore, Agbon “forces the defendants to immediately identify and present within one month the officials involved in the registration of minors in each voting unit of the federation and hand them over for investigation and prosecution. “A compulsory order directing.'' appropriate law enforcement agencies.”
The plaintiffs argued that over the years, and particularly since the country returned to democratic rule in May 1999, the unfortunate problem of lack of credibility in the electoral process has recurred and greatly plagued the political space.
He said INEC maintains and updates the voter list across the country in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
Mr. Agbon said that ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Electoral Tribunal conducted CVR across the country and displayed the national voter register on its website from November 12, 2022 to November 25, 2022. Stated.
He claimed that after reviewing the National Register of Voters, he found that the Commission was registering minors, contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act (cited above) which clearly define eligibility for registration.
The complainant edited a copy from the INEC website for the registration of minors and marked it as “Exhibit A” to support his claim.
He told the court that on November 23, 2022, at the National Stakeholders Forum on Elections organized by the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR), INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, based on his observations, told Nigerians: He assured that. The committee will dutifully organize the register before the election.
Agbon said he formally requested the commission through his lawyer to submit a list and names of minor and ineligible voters, but the commission categorically refused and ignored the request. .
However, despite court proceedings and notice of hearing being served on the matter, INEC did not appear in court or raise any defense.
Delivering the judgment on November 28 in a true certified copy witnessed by NAN on Monday, Justice Egwatu held that the conditions for eligibility to be registered as a voter are set out in Articles 77(2) and 117(2) of the Constitution. It was held that Article 12 of the Election Law.
He said the commonality between these sections is that voters must be Nigerian citizens, residing in Nigeria, and above the age of 18.
“As I found earlier in this judgment, the defendant's registered voters in Exhibit 'A' are minors, i.e., have not reached the age of 18.
“This means that the defendant registration and renewal officials failed in their duty to register voters in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the Elections Act,” he said.
He cited the provisions of Article 120, Paragraph 1 of the Elections Act 2022, which states that an officer who acts in violation of his official duties commits a crime and is liable on conviction to a fine of up to NOK 500,000 or to imprisonment. He said it would be. Term of 12 months or both. (South)
Source: dailypost.ng