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Retired Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni has called for the prosecution of people accused of electoral offences, arguing that nullifying flawed elections without punishing those responsible allows electoral malpractice to continue.
Speaking on News Central’s A Place at the Table programme, Owoseni said ambiguities and gaps in Nigeria’s electoral laws had made it difficult to hold people accountable for offences committed during elections.
“There are so many ambiguities in our laws. Some of our laws have been made to be so redundant,” Owoseni said.
He cited cases where election tribunals and appellate courts had nullified elections after finding evidence of irregularities.
“Look at, for example, where you’ve had situations where people go to tribunals, up to the Federal Court of Appeal, and they will nullify an election to say that it’s tampered with,” he said.
Owoseni said some of the cases involved alleged forgery and alteration of electoral documents, but questioned why those responsible were not subsequently prosecuted.
“Offences have been committed. Forgeries have been committed. Up to the time I left the police and up to now, for some of those elections that have been identified as faulty and nullified, papers were mutilated. Figures were added to it,” he said.
He argued that even where the Electoral Act does not specifically address an offence, other criminal laws should be used to prosecute those responsible.
“Up to today, we’ve not been able to bring anybody to book to say that even if the Electoral Law, Electoral Act, does not address it, what of the Criminal Code?” Owoseni asked.
He said the legal process should go beyond removing an elected official and ordering a fresh election.
“So not until when you say it’s not just enough for you to say that this election is faulty, remove the beneficiary from the House of Assembly or as governor, go and do a re-run election,” he said.
“The things that you identified to make that election to be faulty, which is forgery, altering of forged documents, identify the people that are involved, send them to jail.”
According to Owoseni, the absence of consequences could encourage further electoral offences.
“If there is no consequence, people will continue to do it,” he said.
He acknowledged instances where courts had ordered financial restitution after an election-related case, but questioned whether such measures adequately addressed alleged criminal offences.
“The only time that something that is a little bit as restitution has happened was when, I think there was a court that ruled that the guy should vacate office; he should refund the money or allowances, but what of the criminal offences that have been committed?” Owoseni said.
He called on the Inspector-General of Police and other relevant institutions to review past election judgments and identify cases involving criminal offences.
“So the Inspector General of Police and the institutions should stand up. Even if you are going to start from 1999 or 2015, even if for any reason, let us go and look at all those judgments,” he said.
“Identify the people that have committed criminal offences.”
Owoseni said stronger enforcement was necessary to deter electoral malpractice and other offences.
“If you don’t do that, people are carrying weapons all about,” he said.
“Some people must be made to face the wrath of the law.”
