The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has renewed its call for the establishment of a special tribunal to handle electoral offences in Nigeria.
INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu made the appeal on Friday, February 7, 2025, during the commission’s first quarterly consultative meeting with the media in Abuja. He emphasized the need for a tribunal dedicated to electoral offences, citing the backlog of unresolved cases as a major challenge to Nigeria’s electoral process.
“A major obstacle to the speedy dispensation of justice in this regard is that electoral offences are not time-bound, unlike post-election offences handled by tribunals,” Yakubu stated. He further explained that these cases are currently prosecuted in Magistrate and State High Courts, where they compete for attention with other legal matters, leading to long delays and, in some cases, the carrying over of cases from one general election to another.
To illustrate the problem, Yakubu referenced the recent conviction of a Returning Officer in Akwa Ibom State, which took nearly six years to reach a verdict despite INEC’s persistent pursuit of justice since the 2019 general elections.
The INEC chairman also highlighted the commission’s ongoing collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in prosecuting 774 electoral offenders from the 2023 general elections. Successful convictions have already been secured in Kebbi and Kogi States, while similar efforts against vote-buying, in partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have resulted in convictions in Lagos, Kwara, and Gombe States. However, Yakubu lamented that many cases remain unresolved due to the slow judicial process.
In light of these challenges, INEC is advocating for the establishment of an Electoral Offences Tribunal, which would have a specific jurisdiction and a limited timeframe to ensure swift prosecution of offenders.
The proposal aligns with ongoing electoral reforms in Nigeria aimed at strengthening democracy, reducing election malpractice, and ensuring accountability in the electoral process. However, the success of such a tribunal would depend on legislative action and political will to implement necessary legal frameworks.
