Hey there, middle schoolers! Big news coming your way! After the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), and the Police are teaming up to take legal action against 1,076 people who committed electoral offenses during the elections. That’s a lot of people!
But wait, there’s more! INEC and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will also be handling 18 case files related to financial crimes that happened during the elections. And the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has sent one case file to INEC too. Phew, that’s a lot of legal stuff!
Now, let’s talk numbers. The state with the highest number of cases is Ebonyi, with 64 cases involving 216 suspects. Edo State comes in second with 22 cases and 80 suspects, while Anambra is third with 12 cases and 66 suspects. Other states like Kaduna, Adamawa, Kano, Rivers, Osun, and Yobe also have their fair share of cases and suspects.
So, what did these people do? Well, they committed a range of offenses like “culpable homicide and unlawful possession of firearms,” “snatching and destroying of INEC items,” “being in possession of offensive weapons,” “misconduct at polling units,” and even “stealing of election results.” Not good, right?
But don’t worry, help is on the way! The President of the NBA, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau, promised to provide legal services for free to prosecute these electoral offenders. He even got 191 lawyers, including 16 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), to take up the cases in different states. The Police and INEC will also assist in making sure these cases are prosecuted properly.
The suspects are already in custody, and the evidence against them has been gathered. INEC, NBA, and the Police are working together like never before to make sure justice is served. Letters of authority will be issued to the NBA team soon, and they will start the legal proceedings.
However, the NBA returned 26 case files to INEC because those offenses didn’t fall under electoral offenses as defined by the law. So, those cases will be handled by the Police instead.
That’s all for now, middle schoolers! Stay tuned for more updates on this important legal action against electoral offenders. Remember, it’s important to follow the rules and play fair in elections!