Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has once again advocated for the establishment of the Electoral Offences Tribunal Commission with a specific jurisdiction and a limited timeframe to expedite the resolution of cases.
During the quarterly consultative meeting with the Media in Abuja on Friday, National Chairman of the commission, Mahmood Yakubu, highlighted a significant impediment to the prompt administration of justice.
He noted that electoral offences lack temporal constraints, unlike post-election offences handled by tribunals. Yakubu elucidated that electoral offenders are exclusively tried in the Magistrate and State High Courts within the jurisdiction where the alleged transgressions occurred, adding that, these cases do not receive prioritized attention due to the courts' involvement in a diverse array of other legal matters.
Emphasizing the perpetual nature of electoral offences spanning from one General Election to the next, the Chairman underscored how this continuity can hinder the diligent prosecution of such cases. He urged the media to engage in this patriotic advocacy for the betterment of our electoral democracy.
In his response, the National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Alhassan Yahaya, represented by the National Secretary, Achike Chude, pledged unwavering collaboration and support to INEC to ensure the commission's success in fulfilling its mandate.
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