‘Held Accountable!’ INEC Prosecutes 774 Electoral Offenders from 2023 Polls

OwelekeTV —  During the first quarterly meeting with media executives, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Friday reveals that alleged offenders from the 2023 general elections are currently facing prosecution across the country.

Yakubu said the 774 alleged electoral offenders are being prosecuted in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

However, he expressed concerns over delays in the process due to the absence of an electoral offenses tribunal and a defined time frame for such cases.

He noted that regular courts, burdened with multiple responsibilities, often do not give electoral offenses the urgent attention they require.

Yakubu also disclosed that INEC, in partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has successfully prosecuted some electoral offenders.

He emphasized the need for reforms in the prosecution of electoral offenses, stating that recent judicial and legislative actions highlight efforts to hold INEC officials accountable for their designated responsibilities.

“It also highlights the challenges we face in dealing with electoral offences. The recent successful prosecution of a Returning Officer in Akwa Ibom state is a case in point. 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.

“Through our collaboration with the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) cases involving 774 alleged offenders from the 2023 General Election are being prosecuted.

So far, successful prosecutions have been recorded in Kebbi and Kogi States while our collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on vote-buying has yielded similar results in Lagos, Kwara and Gombe States. Yet, many cases are still pending.

“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.

“Furthermore, they are solely prosecuted by the Magistrate and State High Courts in the jurisdiction where the alleged offences are committed. No priority attention is given to such cases as the courts deal with a variety of other cases.

“Consequently, electoral offences are carried over from one General Election to another which may sometimes affect the diligent prosecution of the cases.

“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. I urge the media to join in this patriotic advocacy for the good of our electoral democracy”.

While assuring that the commission will continue to partner with the media, especially the NUJ as a critical stakeholder in the electoral process in general in the best interest of the nation’s electoral democracy.

He said,

“you may recall that 114 accredited media organisations deployed 721 personnel to cover the recent off-cycle Governorship Election in Edo State while 112 organisations deployed over 700 staff for the Ondo State Governorship Election. We look forward to the same partnership and support in all our forthcoming elections and electoral activities.

“Already, the Commission has released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Anambra State Governorship election to be held on 8th November 2025. Party primaries begin next month.

“Political parties interested in fielding candidates for the election shall commence their primaries on 20th March 2025 and end three weeks later on 10th April 2025. At the appropriate time, the Commission will release the details for interested media organisations to apply for accreditation through the online portal which all of you are now familiar with.

“Similarly, the Commission has released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) holding on 21st February 2026.

“However, most of the major activities for the election will be held this year, including party primaries and the nomination of candidates for the 68 constituencies made up of six Area Council Chairmen and 62 Councillors scheduled to hold from 9th – 30th June 2025.

“In addition to the end-of-tenure elections, there is an increasing number of bye-elections to be conducted. In the last three weeks alone, vacancies have occurred in one Federal Constituency and two State Constituencies caused by the death of serving members.

“In another State Constituency, the State Assembly declared the seat vacant as a result of absenteeism, following the prolonged absence of the member from sittings of the House in violation of Section 109(1)[f] of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). The matter of pending bye-elections is also on the agenda for this meeting.

“I want to reassure you of our commitment to continuously improve on the electoral process. Every election or electoral activity presents its own unique challenge and an opportunity to learn lessons for improvement.

“The recent Ondo State Governorship election has been widely acknowledged to be an improvement especially in the management of logistics and performance of election technology. We will strive harder to ensure the continuous improvement of our elections. However, being a multi-stakeholder responsibility, we appeal for the continuous support of all and sundry, especially in critical areas of reform.”

President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mallam Alhassan Hahaha stressed the need for the National Assembly to set in motion the processes of creating an electoral offences commission and tribunal so that the responsibility of prosecution will be taken away from the commission

Represented by the National Secretary, Achike Chude, the NUJ President said,

“if there is one thing I think some of us have noticed, it is the fact that INEC has always been very, very reluctant when it comes to this pressure on them to prosecute offenders. It is not that they do not want to prosecute offenders.

“I think it’s part of the reasons why people have been making a case for this electoral tribunal to be put in place, so that they can be free to do what they are very good at doing. We should also encourage the National Assembly to set these things in motion because there are just too many things that they are doing that they shouldn’t be doing.”