The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has renewed calls for the creation of the Electoral Offences Tribunal with a specific jurisdiction and limited timeframe for speedy dispensation of cases.
INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made the call during the first regular quarterly consultative meeting with the media in Abuja on Friday.
Yakubu noted that a major obstacle to the speedy dispensation of justice is that electoral offences are not time-bound as is the case with post-election offences through the tribunals.
He stated that unlike post-election petitions, which are time-bound and handled by dedicated tribunals, electoral offences lack strict deadlines and are prosecuted in magistrate and state high courts, where they compete for attention with other cases.
“Consequently, electoral offences are carried over from one General Election to another which may sometimes affect the diligent prosecution of the cases,” he said.
Yakubu however noted the recent conviction of a Returning Officer in Akwa Ibom State, a case that took nearly six years to conclude.
He also noted INEC’s collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in prosecuting 774 alleged offenders from the 2023 general election, with successful convictions in Kebbi and Kogi states.
“Similarly, INEC’s partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has led to convictions for vote-buying in Lagos, Kwara, and Gombe States,” he said.
According to him, despite these efforts, many cases remain unresolved, underscoring the need for an Electoral Offences Tribunal to ensure swift and effective justice.
The INEC chairman highlighted the media’s vital role in election coverage, citing the deployment of 721 personnel from 114 accredited media organizations for the recent Edo State off-cycle governorship election and a similar turnout for the Ondo election.
“We look forward to continued collaboration as we prepare for upcoming elections,” he assured.
On the Anambra State Governorship Election, he said INEC has released the timetable for the election, scheduled for November 8, 2025.
“Political parties will conduct primaries from March 20 to April 10, 2025. Media accreditation details will be provided in due course.
“Similarly, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Elections are set for February 21, 2026. However, key activities, including party primaries and candidate nominations for 68 constituencies, will take place between June 9 and 30, 2025,” he said.
Also speaking, the National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Hassan Yahaya, assured INEC of the union’s collaboration as the success of INEC is the success of the Nigerian state.
Represented by the National Secretary of the Union, Achike Chude, the NUJ president remarked on INEC’s request for more budgetary allocation, stating that in view of the myriads of socioeconomic challenges in Nigerian, the commission should exploit cost-effective ways of doing things.
“We know that they are also looking for ways to make things a bit easier. But we cannot run away from our economic realities.
“And so if there are ways that they also can look at in-house to see how some of those things that have been done can be done perhaps, a bit better in terms of the cost implications, taking in view the economic realities on ground in Nigeria, I think we would encourage them to do that,” he said.
He also advocated using other processes for voting such as to recognize processes such as the people who possess national identity cards, international passports, driving licenses.
Yahaya also called on the media to encourage the National Assembly to set the process of establishing the Electoral Offences Tribunal on motion.
