For a lot of Nigerians, electing a pacesetter of unquestionable legitimacy — one chosen by free and truthful elections, unmarred by violence and different prison violations of election legal guidelines, will present, in the end, nationwide delight and religion within the electoral course of as a real illustration of the folks’s choices. However the 2023 normal election is taken into account one in every of Nigeria’s most controversial because the nation’s return to democracy in 1999, in keeping with a number of election observers. Olanrewaju Oyedeji and Gbenga Salau check out the breaches of legal guidelines in the course of the election and the challenges dealing with electoral integrity within the nation.
Elections in Nigeria are ruled by a complete set of legal guidelines and rules, and disturbing incidents occurred over the past election that critically violated all of them.
The Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ) discovered that quite a few folks and establishments, together with the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC), the official physique accountable for implementing election legal guidelines, members of the navy, political events and main politicians, dedicated unlawful acts associated to the elections.
The election-related legal guidelines and rules of Nigeria discovered to have been violated embody the 1999 Nigerian Structure (as amended), the Electoral Act of 2022, pointers established by the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC), and worldwide conventions to which the nation is a signatory.
The abuses that CCIJ documented reveal vital weaknesses of the legal guidelines, each in how they function and the way they’re enforced.
As an example, a brief INEC staffer transporting poll papers was shot and killed by a military unit on election day; the INEC itself awarded a contract to print election supplies to an organization owned by a governorship candidate, elevating questions on battle of curiosity and the potential for corruption; a former president, his legal professional normal and justice minister overtly displayed their ballots in a system that’s supposed to guard voting in privateness; political events blatantly disregarded legal guidelines requiring monetary disclosures; and journalists had been attacked and harassed whereas masking the election in a transparent violation of press freedom.
Taken collectively, these incidents spotlight the intense challenges dealing with Nigeria’s electoral system since 1999, when Africa’s most populous nation returned to civil rule.Males in navy uniforms open fireplace on
INEC employees on Election Day PAUL Abaji, an electoral officer at Obi-Obetti Umutu, Delta State in southern Nigeria, is without doubt one of the victims of the violence that characterised final yr’s normal election.
The INEC recruited him as an advert hoc employees member whereas he was endeavor his obligatory one-year nationwide youth service within the state. Annually, graduates from universities and polytechnics throughout the nation are mobilised in massive numbers to take part within the programme.
The INEC continuously depends on NYSC members throughout election intervals to satisfy the demand for manpower, recruiting them to assist handle and oversee the electoral course of. This partnership performs a key position in making certain the sleek conduct of elections nationwide. Corps members often establish themselves on election day by carrying their NYSC and INEC uniforms.
Mr Abaji was transporting poll papers to the collation centre on election day together with his colleagues Defeware Okemute, Chibuzor Oliaku, Iroy Christian and Amale Anthony, when males in navy uniforms allegedly shot on the 18-seater Toyota Hiace through which they had been touring alongside Umuaja Street, in Umutu.
Mr Okemute, who had beforehand labored as a trainer, died, whereas Messrs Abaji, Oliaku and Christian all sustained a number of gunshot wounds. Mr Anthony sustained one gunshot wound and nonetheless carries the bullet in his physique. Two girls — advert hoc INEC employees who had been additionally driving within the automobile — survived the assault with out accidents.
Nobody has been prosecuted for the killing of Mr Okemute, in keeping with subject proof gathered by the CCIJ. The Delta State Police have confirmed that the case stays beneath investigation and that no arrests have been made in reference to the capturing.
This assault is only one in an extended listing of assaults towards INEC officers in recent times, even if Nigerian regulation prohibits using violence or threats throughout elections.
Knowledge from the fee present that between 2019 and 2022, there have been 50 incidents of assaults on INEC workplaces throughout 15 states.
The violence continued in the course of the 2023 elections, with 5 new assaults on election officers reported from December 2022 to March 2023, a CCIJ evaluation of media reviews discovered.
Lots of the incidents of violence within the final election had been carried out by members of the Japanese Safety Community (ESN), the militant wing of the Indigenous Folks of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group that opposed the conduct of elections in Southeastern Nigeria because of the Federal Authorities’s refusal to launch their chief, Nnamdi Kanu.
Whereas the violence inflicted by ESN was broadly reported, assaults attributed to state actors, just like the one which killed Mr Okemute and injured Mr Abaji and his colleagues had been underreported.
Residents of the neighborhood the place the capturing occurred mentioned the suspects had been troopers posted to offer safety for Platform Petroleum Restricted, a non-public oil and fuel firm chaired by Dumo Briggs, a lawyer and businessman.
For the reason that begin of the Niger Delta battle, personal oil and fuel corporations within the area have been making use of for using navy personnel to guard their services.
When contacted, Nigerian Military spokesman Main Basic Onyeama Nwachukwu refused to establish the troopers stationed on the firm and didn’t affirm that troopers had been concerned within the capturing. Nonetheless, a bodily go to to the placement by the CCIJ verified the presence of a navy publish on the oil firm’s premises in Umutu.
Narrating what led to the lethal encounter, Mr Abaji mentioned they had been on their strategy to the native authorities collation workplace when an argument ensued between their driver and a few youths who tried to dam the automobile.
Based on Mr Abaji, the youths didn’t need the INEC officers to take the election supplies again to the headquarters- they wished them to add the ends in that neighborhood as a substitute. However the INEC officers resisted their efforts and continued driving.
The regulation requires that election outcomes are counted and uploaded on the INEC Consequence Viewing Portal (IReV) solely on the polling unit the place the election was carried out within the presence of voters and occasion brokers.
Unknown to Mr Abaji and his colleagues, the youths had gone forward to a close-by navy checkpoint and falsely knowledgeable the troopers that the INEC officers had been a harmful group making an attempt to flee with poll papers.
“As we got here nearer to the navy checkpoint, the soldier opened fireplace on us with none warning or try to cease us,” Mr Abaji mentioned.
“After the capturing incident, we learnt that youths locally from the place we left advised the military officers on responsibility that we had been poll field snatchers and these officers acted on this instruction to shoot at us,” he advised CCIJ.
A number of witnesses additionally confirmed to CCIJ that there was an altercation between the youths and the INEC officers over the poll papers and the place the outcomes needs to be uploaded.
However Mr Abaji and the opposite victims maintained that they didn’t work locally the place the assault occurred, and that it didn’t make sense to add the outcomes there. That they had travelled to Umutu to board the 18-seater van that might take them to their head workplace, suggesting a case of the flawed identification.
“We solely went to affix the automobile that might convey us to the INEC head workplace. We didn’t conduct elections locally, so there was no method we’d even have uploaded the outcomes. In any case, those that carried out elections locally had been advised to add outcomes solely after they received to the INEC workplace,” one of many victims, Iroy, advised CCIJ.
One other INEC official, Christian, now struggles together with his eyesight after a bullet grazed his face and prompted swelling to his left eye. He additionally sustained an damage to his shoulder and might not increase his fingers because of this, though medical doctors have but to state the precise trigger and analysis.
The previous INEC staffers mentioned they had been deserted by INEC. Regardless of the fee’s promise of offering medical insurance, Mr Abaji and his colleagues didn’t obtain such assist and had been left with pricey medical payments because of their intensive accidents.
In November 2023, Bukola Ojeme, the Public Relations Officer for the Delta State Electoral Fee, assured CCIJ that the INEC was actively engaged on offering medical insurance for victims of election-related violence.
In a video interview with CCIJ, Mr Ojeme defined that the insurance coverage would assist the injured INEC officers cowl their medical bills and help with main payments associated to their therapy. He additionally confirmed that those that have already incurred prices could be reimbursed by the insurance coverage programme. INEC has requested victims to submit medical reviews from the hospitals the place they’re receiving therapy as a part of the reimbursement course of.
Nonetheless, eight months later, one of many victims, Mr Abaji, has but to obtain any assist. After present process a number of surgical procedures to keep away from the amputation of his leg, he needed to pause additional medical care because of monetary constraints, claiming that INEC deserted him regardless of guarantees of compensation.
When contacted once more in February 2024, Mr Ojeme mentioned he was unaware of Mr Abaji’s discharge from the Federal Medical Centre in Asaba, and couldn’t touch upon his present situation.
The CCIJ additionally obtained a medical report from Mr Christian, who spent N2.17 million ($2,814) on therapy for face and shoulder accidents at Dominion Hospital, in Asaba. Regardless of the numerous bills, his restoration stays unsure.
Nigerian Military’s responseWHEN the CCIJ reached out to the spokesperson of the Nigerian Military, Brigadier Basic Onyema Nwachukwu, he initially denied information of the incident, however promised to reply after additional investigation.
He later mentioned that such an incident by no means occurred, suggesting that criminals might have used military uniforms to hold out the act.
“The individuals who carried out the assault might not be military personnel, I’ll, nevertheless, get again after an investigation,” he mentioned.
When the CCIJ introduced eyewitness proof to Mr Nwachukwu, he promised to reply. Regardless of a follow-up question in July 2024, Nwachukwu has not responded as on the time of this publication.
A former director of the Nigerian Military Public Relations, Bólájí Koleoso, advised CCIJ that the principles of engagement don’t enable the military to shoot indiscriminately, and it isn’t permissible to fireplace reside bullets at unarmed individuals.
“You can’t fireplace reside bullets towards unarmed individuals, besides if in the course of the means of snatching the poll as an example, there may be damage or lack of lives, then the military can shoot,” Mr Koleoso advised CCIJ.
INEC awards printing contract to firm belonging to candidate in a guber electionLAST yr, widespread media reviews revealed that the INEC awarded a contract value N434 million (roughly $500,000 USD) to a printing firm owned by All Progressives Congress (APC) politician Aishatu Ahmed, often known as Binani.
The contract was for the printing of outcomes sheets and different safety paperwork for the elections. This raised issues over a possible abuse of the contractual course of, as Ms Binani herself was a governorship candidate in the identical election beneath the ruling APC.
Given the delicate nature of electoral supplies, which qualify as safety paperwork, the procurement would usually comply with a restricted bidding course of to safeguard transparency and equity.
CCIJ revisited the contract award, highlighting the flagrant abuse of procurement regulation and the INEC’s personal pointers.
Part 40 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 outlines the method for restricted bidding, emphasising the necessity for a clear and accountable course of in awarding contracts.
Awarding an election-related contract to an organization owned by a gubernatorial candidate in that exact same election presents a transparent battle of curiosity, as described in Part 57 (12) of the 2007 regulation.
Addressing the difficulty of a battle of curiosity, INEC claimed that Ms Binani was not listed as a director within the Company Affairs Fee portal. However the portal listed “Aishatu Dahiru” as the one individual with vital management of the corporate, and a fast Google search reveals “Aishatu Dahiru” is Aishatu Binani, the previous senator.
Official press statements issued by the INEC famous that the contract was awarded to “Binani Printing Press Restricted.” Nonetheless, checks by the CCIJ reveals that the organisation has since modified its identify, going by “Binani Printing and Publishing Restricted,” per official particulars on the Company Affairs Fee portal.
Regardless of quite a few calls and in-person visits, INEC, Ms Binani and their employees refused to offer any solutions.
Social gathering bigwigs break election legal guidelines with out sanctionNOT solely did the navy and the INEC breach electoral legal guidelines and rules, politicians additionally overtly flouted a number of facets of the regulation with impunity. For instance, former President Muhammadu Buhari and different politicians throughout the political divides flagrantly breached the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC pointers.
Mr Buhari was photographed displaying his poll in a method that confirmed who he voted for. Different outstanding political figures comparable to the previous Lawyer-Basic of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, Orji Kalu, Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, and the previous Governor of Benue State Samuel Ortom additionally displayed their ballots to the general public.
This was a transparent violation of the Electoral Act, which states that elections shall undertake an “open secret poll,” a means of voting through which the train is carried out in a public house, whereas every voter comes to a decision in personal.
Part 122 (3) of the electoral act states that no individual shall “talk at any time to another individual data obtained in a polling unit as to the candidate to whom a voter is about to vote or has voted for.”
Garba Shehu, a media aide to the ex-president, mentioned in an interview with an area tv station, AIT, that he didn’t blame the president for displaying his poll paper.
Mr Buhari had additionally defended his resolution, saying that he confirmed his poll due to his pleasure for the candidacy of his successor Bola Tinubu, and his allegiance to his political occasion.
Political events flagrantly violate electoral legal guidelines with out sanction VIOLATIONS of electoral legal guidelines weren’t restricted to troopers, politicians, and the INEC; political events additionally engaged in actions that raised severe issues concerning the integrity of the election.
The Electoral Act requires political events to submit and publish sure monetary disclosures as an necessary technique of transparency and accountability. The regulation additionally requires the INEC to publish sure monetary paperwork submitted by the political events. However many political events, together with the INEC, nonetheless want to satisfy these necessities.
Part 89 of the Electoral Act requires political events to submit their audited election bills to the INEC inside six months after an election. They’re additionally required to publish an authorized model of the bills in not less than two nationwide newspapers and the official occasion web site.
When the CCIJ reached out to the All Progressives Congress Nationwide Publicity Secretary Felix Morka, searching for if the occasion had complied with the availability of the regulation, he promised to test and get again to our reporter.
He by no means did.
When CCIJ contacted him once more in January, he claimed that he didn’t have the knowledge and requested our reporter to test in once more after he consulted together with his colleagues.
Weeks later, CCIJ reached out to him once more. The publicity secretary mentioned he had but to obtain documentation from the occasion to point out whether or not the APC filed the monetary statements.
The Labour Social gathering at numerous factors had independently disclosed the way it spent its cash. As an example, a press assertion signed by the occasion’s chief spokesperson, Yunusa Tanko, addressed these points, but INEC has not formally launched these paperwork as mandated by regulation.
The CCIJ additionally contacted the Nationwide Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Social gathering (PDP), Debo Ologunagba. He didn’t choose up, nor did he reply to the message despatched to his WhatsApp account on whether or not his occasion submitted its monetary and election spending reviews to the INEC.
Assaults on journalists OBA Adeoye, a journalist with Come up Information, was excited to cowl the March 18 governorship election in Lagos, the seventh such election held in essentially the most populous metropolis in Nigeria since 1999. On Election Day, he and his cameraman Opeyemi Adenihun, along with their driver, Yusuf Hassan, headed to Elegushi Palace alongside Lekki, Lagos, to movie the voting train.
However as quickly as they unpacked their digital camera and drones to seize the world view, a bunch of thugs often known as the “Space Boys” in Lagos confronted them, asking why the journalists had been there to report them.
A number of moments later, the thugs descended on Adenihun, beat him and seized his video digital camera, all within the presence of navy officers close by.
Mr Adeoye mentioned the thugs had been sponsored by a former commissioner within the state, though the journalist declined to establish him by identify.
The journalist reported the assault to the Ilasan Police Station, however his firm administration requested that the case be discontinued. Adeoye additionally was not eager to pursue the matter due to the time and prices of a lawsuit.
In Nigeria, a court docket case might final for years and require a number of million (naira) in litigation prices. Attributable to these obstacles, offenders are sometimes in a position to violate human rights, together with these of journalists, with out consequence.
Just like the Come up TV crew, a number of different journalists had been unable to freely perform their duties in the course of the 2023 normal election regardless of provisions of the Electoral Act that shield their proper to take action.
Part 128 prohibits violence or the specter of damage throughout elections, and Part 39(1) of the 1999 Structure of Nigeria ensures freedom of expression, together with the correct to obtain and impart data.
Equally, the United Nation (UN) Safety Council Decision 1738 (2006) and UN Human Rights Council Decision 27/5 of 25 September 2014 present for press freedom and journalists’ security.
Every of those authorized provisions had been flagrantly breached over the past election.
The Committee to Defend Journalists (CPJ) reported that not less than 14 journalists and media employees who coated the presidential and nationwide meeting elections in Nigeria final yr had been detained, harassed, or attacked whereas not less than one other 28 had been obstructed, harassed, or attacked masking the governorship and state meeting elections.
Commenting on the assaults on journalists in the course of the election, the Programme Director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Ayo Longe famous that there was an increase within the variety of journalists attacked in the course of the February and March 2023 normal elections in comparison with the months earlier than the election.
This story was produced with the assist of MuckRock and the Filecoin Basis for the Decentralised Internet.
