The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) on Friday strengthened their collaboration toward securing voting rights for inmates across Nigeria’s correctional facilities.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, and the Controller-General (C-G) of NCoS, Sylvester Nwakuche, stated this during a courtesy visit of the service to INEC headquarters in Abuja.
In his remarks, Mr Yakubu said that INEC was aware that “the right to vote is a human right which cannot be taken away from a citizen on account of the term being served in a correctional facility.”
He noted that in many parts of the world, including some African countries such as Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, inmates exercised the right to vote.
Mr Yakubu also acknowledged the existing legal precedents, citing Federal High Court and Court of Appeal judgements delivered in Benin in December 2014 and December 2018, respectively, which affirmed the right of awaiting-trial inmates to vote.
He added that based on the combined provisions of Article 25 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and Section 25 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the court affirmed the rights of plaintiffs who were inmates awaiting trial to vote in elections.
Mr Yakubu, however, said that the judges ruled that the right to voluntarily exercise the civic right remained that of the citizen and not a duty to be imposed by force of authority.
Also speaking, the INEC chairman recalled how the commission had previously set up a joint committee with NCoS to review the technical and logistical issues involved.
The issues, according to Mr Yakubu, include providing access to correctional facilities for voter registration, creating polling units and ensuring transparency for observers and the media.
Others, he said, were concerns about allowing political parties to campaign within the NCoS facilities as well as the appointment of polling agents.
Mr Yakubu, however, said that INEC believed that working with NCoS, the challenges could be addressed, taking advantage of the ongoing electoral reform before the National Assembly.
“As you are aware, an election is a process governed by law. Working together, we can seize the opportunity of the ongoing electoral reform for a clear legal provision that will specifically cover citizens serving time in our correctional facilities.
“Doing so will also clarify the provision of Section 12(1)[e] of the Electoral Act, 2022, on voter registration. A precondition for voting in elections, which restricts the exercise to a Nigerian citizen who ‘is not subject to any legal incapacity to vote under any law, rule or regulations in force in Nigeria.
“There are various interpretations as to whether this provision relates to inmates on death row, those serving life sentences or those convicted for treason. Our immediate task is to engage with the national assembly for a clear legal provision on inmate voting. Thereafter, we can address the specific issues that may arise in the course of implementation,’’ he said.
Mr Yakubu appreciated the role of civil society organisations, particularly the Carmelite Prisoners’ Interest Organisation (CAPIO), that had interfaced with INEC and NCoS in their consistent advocacy for inmate voting in Nigeria.
He said that INEC welcomed the positive disposition of the joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on electoral matters on issues of inclusivity in the electoral process.
The INEC chairman pledged the commission’s determination to extend voting rights to inmates in correctional facilities, assuring NCoS that the partnership on election security would continue to be strengthened.
Earlier in his remarks, Mr Nwakuche said that the service was committed to ensuring that inmates who were Nigerian and not legally incapacitated were able to participate in the electoral process.
The controller-general emphasised the need to respect the rights of the inmates, including their voting rights.
Mr Nwakuche noted that more than 60 per cent of the 81,000 inmates in Nigeria were awaiting trial, adding that they were presumed innocent until proven guilty and that even while as convicts or awaiting trial persons, they still have rights.
He said, “I am here this morning to discuss with the INEC chairman to see how we can, if possible, extend some of these rights to these inmates. And this is about voting, right? I am here following a court ruling on the voting rights of inmates in Benin that also escalated up to the appeal court, and there was a judgment on it. Of recent, there was also a national assembly resolution trying to let us know that these people have inalienable rights to vote. For the mere fact that they are in incarceration, we should not deny them the right to vote because they are citizens of this great country. I’m here, chairman, sir, to see how we can escalate these decisions.’’
Mr Nwakuche said that the visit was to see how the two establishments could look into the limitations, grey areas and the technical aspects of the court rulings to see how inmates in Nigeria could vote in the nearest future.
