The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) asserts that the occurrence of violence in the country’s elections will be reduced by prosecuting those responsible for electoral violence and those who funded it. The necessity of creating the Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal to investigate such violations was also emphasized.
Similar to other elections, violence marred the most recent elections on February 25 and March 18, which saw numerous fatalities, ballot boxes stolen, and sometimes entire voting machines damaged.
At a public hearing on the “Bill for an Act to create the National Electoral Offences Commission” in 2021, INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu stated that if electoral criminals are allowed to remain free, the country’s electoral process will not be completed.
The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Affairs organized the hearing.
Although Yakubu accepted the new Election Act of 2022 gave the commission more authority, he maintained that only electoral violators were convicted but the masterminds were not adequately dealt with. He also expressed remorse over the unsuccessful attempts to enact the bill creating the commission.