The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has renewed its call for the establishment of a special tribunal to handle electoral offences, citing delays in the prosecution of cases.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, made the appeal on Friday in Abuja during the commission’s first regular quarterly consultative meeting with the media.
“A major obstacle to the speedy dispensation of justice in this regard is that electoral offences are not time-bound as is the case with post-election offences handled by tribunals,” Yakubu stated.
He noted that electoral offences are currently prosecuted by Magistrate and State High Courts within the jurisdiction where they occur, without priority attention, as courts handle various other cases.
“Consequently, electoral offences are carried over from one general election to another, which may sometimes affect diligent prosecution. It is therefore imperative to renew our call for the creation of the Electoral Offences Tribunal, which will have a specific jurisdiction and limited timeframe for the speedy dispensation of cases,” he added.
