2023: INEC Jails Sokoto Man Caught With 101 Voter Cards, Prosecutes Kano Suspect Found With 367 PVCs

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has secured the conviction of one Nasiru Idris caught with 117 voter cards belonging to other persons in Sokoto State.

Idris was charged and prosecuted before a Magistrate Court in Sokoto and sentenced to one year for violation of provisions in Sections 117 and 145 of the Electoral Act 2002.

Section 177 (b) of the Act provides that any person who “not being an officer acting in the course of his or her duty under this Act, receives any voters card in the name of some other person or persons
for use at an election uses it fraudulently.”

Subsections (c) and (d) stipulate that anyone who “without lawful excuse has in his possession more than one voters
card, or… buys, sells, procures or deals, with a voters card otherwise than as provided in this Act, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N1,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.”

Festus Okoye, INEC’s Commissioner for Information and Voter Education Committee, who announced this in a statement on Saturday further disclosed that another suspect caught with 367 PVCs in Kano State is undergoing protection in with provisions of the Electoral Act.

“The suspect (in Kano) has been charged to Court and the Commission is pursuing his prosecution.

“The Commission wishes to reiterate that it will continue to pursue all violators of the Electoral Act and ensure their diligent prosecution,” said Okoye.

Meanwhile, the Commission has developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to enable seamless distribution of new voter cards to their owners across the country ahead of the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections.

“This (the SOP) will be among the issues to be discussed and finalised at a retreat holding in Lagos from 28th November to 2nd December 2022 involving all the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

“At the end of the retreat, the Commission will release the dates as well as the detailed procedure for the immediate collection of PVCs nationwide.

“The Commission appreciates the patience and understanding of Nigerians, especially those who registered as voters or applied for transfer/replacement of their cards from January to July 2022. In making the cards available for collection, the Commission is also working to ensure that the process is hitch-free,” Okoye added.