The Electoral Act 2022 clearly specifies various electoral offences and their punishments. These range from forging or destroying nomination papers and ballot boxes, to voter card theft, impersonation, bribery, and conspiracy. Despite these clear laws, very few offenders are ever prosecuted by Nigerian security agencies. The offences remain in the statute books as mere words, while offenders continue their activities with complete impunity, confident that they will get away with it.
The weakness of the institutions responsible for prosecution is a major hurdle. Power is split between INEC, the police, the courts, and the Attorney-General’s offices, leading to conflicts of interest and coordination failures. For example, if an INEC officer is accused, there is an immediate conflict in INEC prosecuting its own. There are also frequent clashes between the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions at both federal and state levels.
Furthermore, evidence gathering is notoriously weak. Often, suspect files contain only the accused person’s statement, without any supporting testimonies from complainants or arresting officers. Without strong evidence that can withstand cross-examination, cases are lost. It is also extremely difficult to compel police officers deployed on election day to travel and appear as witnesses in courts outside their normal jurisdictions.
