2023 Elections: Voting Day Executive Rascality, Show Of Shame, Says NBA
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Wednesday, re-echoed the colossal aberrations which characterized the just concluded 2023 elections, describing it as a “show of shame”.
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, who painted vivid graphic pictures of how the electoral processes were violated, noted also that the 2023 elections witnessed what he called “Voting day executive rascality”.
Maikyau, who was represented by the NBA second Vice President, Clement Chukwuemeka, spoke at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) fifth round of MOVE Project and Review Forum on Human Rights and the 2023 elections situation room report.
Chukwuemeka cited that though the election was made that citizens vote secretly but most legislators and executives including President Muhammadu Buhari displayed how he voted. “This is one of the offenses of the electoral Act”, he stressed.
He said the worst of it all, was where a Nigerian is no more honored or recognized as Nigerian, “that is voters profiling. We witnessed it in general elections, Governorship and state house Assembly elections. It is not only in Lagos but in some states.
“We saw how they carried out that intimidation and we saw how they did all sorts of things but up till now, nobody has been called to account for such.”
He, however, expressed confidence that now the elections had been concluded and are being contested at the courts, the judiciary will live up to expectations to right the wrongs.
According to him, “The elections no doubt has come and gone. The attention has shifted to the judiciary. As a lawyer, we are very optimistic that the judiciary will discharge their responsibility without fear or favour. That , I can assure because it remains the last hope of the common man.”
While speaking, the Deputy Director (Prosecution) Haruna Auta, who represented the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, confirmed that it has received about 774 cases involving electoral malpractices and related offenses from the Nigerian Police which are to be investigated and tried.
While speaking, the Deputy Director (Prosecution) Haruna Auta, who represented the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, confirmed that it has received about 774 cases involving electoral malpractices and related offenses from the Nigerian Police which are to be investigated and tried.
The NSCDC Commandant General, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, who was represented by Commander, Fatima Binta Ilesanmi, in charge of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), recalled that the Commandant General, right from the time of collection of the Permanent Voters Cards, expressed the need for every personnel of the Corps to discharge their duties professionally in a very civil manner and in line with international best practices before, during and after the 2023 general elections.
She said while all the activities leading up to the conduct of the general election and election proper were over, the NSCDC is particularly elated that the Nigerian citizens both home and abroad presented unprecedented commitments for election security.
She noted that elections may have been won and lost, but it is important for the responsible relevant agencies and parastatals of government and National Human Rights Commission were deliberating on how to intentionally bring perpetrators of electoral and human rights offenses to book in order to further strengthen the nation’s democracy.
Chief Tony Ojukwu, Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), who was represented by the Project Coordinator, Hillary Ogbonna, in a welcome address, said that the fifth forum would focus on “Accountability for electoral crimes and human rights violations during and after the 2023 elections”.
He said it was styled to be a media event where the media gets data and information that they would disseminate to Nigerians and that was why since February, the Commission had been publishing the dashboard of the human rights on elections.
Others who spoke at the event include the National Coordinator, Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDP), Chinonye Obiagwu; Ms Kemi Okenyodo, Executive Director, Partners West Africa (PWAN) and Dr. Benson Olugbuo, Country Director, Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC).
▪︎ Report by Optimum Times; ▪︎▪︎ Featured photo by BusinessDay