Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Femi Falana, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prosecute all electoral offenders in the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
He explained that this would go a long way in ensuring that the coming governorship and state house of assembly elections are conducted in a peaceful atmosphere.
The lawyer made the recommendation during an interview on Hard Copy, a Channels Television programme which airs on Fridays.
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“Frankly speaking, by now, I expected that the 120 people arrested by the police would have been charged; dragged to court so that others would learn some lesson that it does not pay to engage in impunity,” he said.
Falana stressed the need for the electoral umpire to prosecute the offenders itself and not leave it for the police.
According to him, this will prevent state governors with vested interests from withdrawing cases of electoral violence from court after the election fever might have died down.
The lawyer stated, “I have appealed to INEC, pursuant to Section 150 of the Electoral Act, to ensure that all electoral offenders arrested by the police and other security agencies are arrested and taken to court.
“If you leave it in the hands of the police, once the charges are filed in court and the elections are over and the public decides to move on, the respective attorneys-general would be directed by the government in every state to withdraw those cases quietly.”
