The House of Representatives is proposing a 15-year jail term or a minimum of N5 million fine for anyone convicted of vote buying in any election in the country.
They are also imposing a 20-year jail term or a fine of N40 million for persons convicted of ballot box snatching during elections in the country.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stressed the need for the prosecution of sponsors of electoral offenses in the country, as a means of curtailing the menace.
Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman stated this on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking at a public hearing organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters on a bill to establish the National Electoral Offences Commission.
He also said the electoral body would want to see not just the prosecution of electoral offenders, but also their sponsors, who are usually the beneficiaries of electoral crimes.
Yakubu noted that the reform of the country’s electoral system would be incomplete without effective sanctions against those who violate the rules.
“at present, INEC is saddled with the responsibility of prosecuting electoral offenders under the Electoral Act. This has been very challenging for the Commission. For instance, since the 2015 General Election, 125 cases of electoral offenses were filed in various Courts out of which 60 convictions have been secured so far, including the most recent one in Akwa Ibom State.
“The Commission would like to see more successful prosecution of offenders, not just ballot box snatchers, falsifiers of election results and vote buyers at polling units but most importantly, their sponsors. We look forward to the day when highly placed sponsors of thuggery, including high-profile figures that seek to benefit from these violations, are arrested and prosecuted. We believe the work of the proposed Commission will help in this regard,” according to him.
ALSO, READ
Football Remain Nigeria’s National Asset- President Buhari says
