The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court over its alleged failure to arrest and prosecute suspected perpetrators of grave electoral offences in the recently concluded off-cycle governorship elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja last Friday, seeks an order of mandamus to compel INEC to investigate the allegations of electoral offences, including electoral violence, in the three states and to prosecute those found culpable.
SERAP also wants the court to order INEC to disclose the spending details on the off-cycle governorship elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa States, including the specific amount spent to conduct voter and civic education and details of the activities carried out in the three states.
According to SERAP, there is a legitimate public interest in ensuring accountability for the grave electoral offences in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states, which undermine the integrity of the electoral process and the democratic system.
“Granting the reliefs sought would compel INEC to live up to its constitutional and statutory responsibilities and end the impunity of electoral offenders,” SERAP said in a statement on Sunday, December 17.
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SERAP also argued that the recurring cases of electoral bribery and violence make a mockery of Nigeria’s electoral process and participatory democracy.
“The electoral offences in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo states show that INEC has learnt little or nothing from the well-documented problems during the 2023 general elections,” SERAP said.
It further contended that INEC has constitutional and statutory duties to ensure accountability for electoral offences in the country, and to guarantee the effective enjoyment of the citizens’ right to vote in future elections.
“The right to vote is fundamental and is the essence of a democratic society, and any restrictions on that right strike at the heart of representative government. Nigerians should have the final say in the election of governmental officials”, it added.
The suit, filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Andrew Nwankwo, is yet to be assigned to a judge.
