INEC Officials Should Be Arrested, Prosecuted –Election Observers

Many more Nigerians appear to have an axe to grind with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC officials over its conduct of last Saturday’s elections.

The commission has been announcing the outcome of the presidential and Houses of Assembly elections nationwide, but amidst several dissenting voices.

Election observers and Civil Society Groups, acting under the auspices of the Abia State Civil Society Groups and Election Observers are also disappointed.

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For them, the INEC officials involved in the elections should be arrested and prosecuted.

They particularly mentioned the INEC Returning Officer for Abia South NASS elections, Prof Georgina Ugwuanyi, as well as the Aba South LGA Electoral Officer, Mrs Nkem Oko.

The groups made their views known in a press release signed on their behalf by Nnanna Nwafor of Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development,  Chuka Okoye of Centre for Human Rights Advocacy and Wholesome Society and Nnamdi Elekwachi of Society for Economic Rights and Social Justice.

According to them, the INEC’s performance in the totally contradicted democratic tenets, after it has obtained a huge vote for the exercise.

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Such waste of resources they argue, should warrant the arrest and prosecution of the aforementioned officers.

The civil society groups submitted that the INEC also created what it describes as unfavorable condition which affected the polling agents and opened them up to compromise.

Beyond arrest and prosecution of the alleged culpable INEC officials, the groups say  the INEC should correct errors it made in the course of the conduct of the elections.

“We hereby demand, in the interest of peace, INEC corrects its mistakes, and does the needful in accordance with the Electoral Act, and also fix a convenient date for the supplementary election.

“We insist also that the date be set on an acceptable day, not when it will be inconvenient for the people, and that adequate publicity be made to this effect.

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“Finally, we call on the Commission to, in line with its neutrality as umpire, arrest and investigate Prof. Georgina Ugwuanyi and Mrs. Oko Nkem”, they said.

For them, it is unacceptable for the INEC to fail to announce results of an election 48 hours after it had been concluded.

Using the Abia South elections, it said the commission could not announce it until Mondah, after it had earlier declared it inconclusive.