Court Orders INEC To Remove Underage Entries, Prosecute Officials Within 90 Days

A Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to identify its officials responsible for registering underage individuals within 90 days, as part of the continuous voters’ registration (CVR) in polling units nationwide.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in his ruling, also mandated that the individuals responsible be presented and transferred to the appropriate law enforcement agency for scrutiny and potential prosecution.

Justice Egwuatu also issued a mandatory directive, requiring INEC to immediately remove from its national voters’ register the names of all underage voters identified and compiled by the plaintiff in “Exhibit A.”

These individuals were listed in each polling unit across the federation and were published on the court’s website as part of the affidavit supporting the originating summons.

The judge further issued a mandatory directive, requiring the commission to provide the plaintiff with a certified true copy (CTC) of the thoroughly revised national voters’ register, encompassing all eligible individuals to vote in Nigeria, within a 90-day timeframe.

Alternatively, he instructed the electoral umpire to publish the refined national voters’ register, including all eligible voters in the country, on its website within 90 days from the date of judgment. Additionally, he positively addressed the six questions posed by the plaintiff.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the plaintiff, Rev. Mike Agbon, in the originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/367/2023 filed on Match 17 through his lawyer, Desmond Yamah, had sued INEC as the sole defendant.

In the suit, the plaintiff posed six questions for determination, including “whether the defendant is constitutionally and legally obligated to conduct credible CVR in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Whether the defendant is bound by the constitution and its enabling statute, the Electoral Act, 2022, to act in strict compliance with the provisions of the constitution and its enabling act.

“Whether, by Section 23 of the Electoral Act, 2022, it is illegal and unlawful for the defendant to have registered underage, i.e., infants and toddlers, during the CVR.

“Whether the admission by the defendant that it has a substantial number of underaged, illegal, and illegible voters published in its voters’ register exonerates the defendant from any sanction within the ambit of the law for registering underaged as contained in Sections 12 and 23 of the Electoral Act, 2022,” among others.
Agbon therefore sought “a mandatory order compelling and directing the defendant to forthwith within one month to identify, produce, and handover its officials that are involved in the registration of the underaged in each polling unit across the federation for investigation and prosecution by the appropriate law enforcement agency,” etc.

The plaintiff emphasized the enduring challenge of credibility in electoral processes, particularly since Nigeria’s transition to democratic governance in May 1999. This persistent issue has significantly troubled the political space.

The plaintiff noted that INEC, by the provisions of the Electoral Act, is tasked with the responsibility of managing and updating the national voters’ register.

Agbon said before the 2023 general elections, the electoral umpire conducted CVR nationwide and displayed the national register of voters on its website between Nov. 12, 2022, and Nov. 25, 2022

He claimed that upon reviewing the national register of voters, he found evidence that the commission had registered underage voters, in violation of the clear qualifications outlined in the Electoral Act.

The plaintiff supported his claim by presenting compiled copies from the INEC website showcasing the registered underage individuals, marked as “Exhibit A.”

He informed the court that on November 23, 2022, INEC’s Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during a national stakeholders’ forum on elections organized by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR), assured Nigerians that, in response to public observations, the commission would conscientiously rectify and cleanse the voter register in preparation for the forthcoming elections.

Agbon, with the assistance of his lawyer, formally requested the commission to provide him with the list and names of underage and ineligible voters. However, the commission adamantly rejected and disregarded this application. Despite being served with court processes and hearing notices related to the case, INEC neither appeared in court nor submitted any defense.

Delivering the judgment on Nov. 28, but in a certified true copy sighted on Monday by NAN, Justice Egwuatu held that the conditions for qualification to be registered as a voter were stipulated in Sections 77 (2) and 117 (2) of the Constitution and Section 12 of the Electoral Act.

He stated that the key provisions in these sections mandate that a voter should be both a citizen and resident of Nigeria, and they must have reached the age of 18 years.

“As I have found earlier in this judgment, the voters registered by the defendant in Exhibit ‘A’ are underage, that is, they have not attained the age of 18 years.

“What this translates into is that the registration officers and an update officer of the defendant failed in their duties to carry out the registration of voters in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act,” he said.

Referring to Section 120(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, he emphasized that any officer violating their official duties would be deemed to have committed an offense. Upon conviction, the individual could face a maximum fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months, or both. (NAN)

KanyiDaily recalls that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja had strongly warned the Independent National Electoral Commissioner, INEC, accusing it of being partisan.