.. INEC vow to prosecute more offenders
By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
The war against any type of election crime has recorded its first success as
the Independent National Electoral Commission has said, a Magistrate Court in Sokoto has sentenced one Nasiru Idris to one year in prison, for illegally being in possession 101 PVCs in contravention of Sections 117 and 145 of the Electoral Act 2002.
This good news was broken by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Barrister Festus Okoye in a press statement made available to journalists on Sunday.
The statement said the Commission met on, Saturday, November 26, 2022, and deliberated on a number of issues, among them the date and procedure for the collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) and the prosecution of persons arrested for illegal possession of PVCs.
Okoye’s statement stated that on prosecution of offenders, in the last couple of weeks, the Nigeria Police have arrested some individuals found to be in illegal possession of voters’ cards in some States of the Federation.
Similarly, the Police in Kano State has arrested a man who was found to be in possession of 367 PVCs. The suspect has been charged to Court and the Commission is pursuing his prosecution.
He said INEC has determined to make the collection of PVCs as seamless as possible as a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been developed.
The statement also said, on the update on PVC Collection. following the end of the statutory period for the display of the register of voters for claims and objections.
He noted that this will be among the issues to be discussed and finalised at a retreat holding in Lagos from 28th November to 2nd December 2022 involving all the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Okoye stressed that at the end of the retreat, the Commission will release the dates as well as the detailed procedure for the immediate collection of PVCs nationwide.
The Commission appreciates the patience and understanding of Nigerians, especially those who registered as voters or applied for transfer/replacement of their cards from January to July 2022.
In making the cards available for collection, the Commission is also working to ensure that the process is hitch-free.
He said the Commission wishes to reiterate that it will continue to pursue all violators of the Electoral Act and ensure their diligent prosecution.
