Ever since the National Human Rights Commission indicted some politicians in its electoral offenses report, reactions have been pouring in from mainly the ‘indicted’ people asking the NHRC to explain how it arrived at its conclusion without them being asked even a question.
The NHRC report indicted prominent personalities of various electoral malpractices and infractions. The report covered electoral offences between 2007 and 2011 and was carried out under the commission’s Electoral Accountability Project/End Electoral Impunity Project, indicting about 66 individuals and organisations for alleged electoral offences ranging from criminal offence, administrative, judicial and professional misconduct. The 284-page report further asked the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Inspector-General of Police and other relevant institutions to prosecute and discipline those so indicted.
Executive Secretary of the Commission, Prof Bem Angwe, added for good measure: “Unless steps are strengthened to deal with electoral impunity, the rights to vote and be voted for and related rights will continually be infringed upon with adverse consequences on democratic governance in the country”. The committee chairman, Prof Nsongurua Udombana also noted that electoral offenses persisted over time because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice (AG) had previously failed to act. Instructively it is that same AG (and Police) that NHRC has referred the report to for further action.
Can their ever be the possibility of implementation or was the report just an academic exercise? Indeed there are doubts and too many questions begging for answers in the NHRC report.
Some of the people indicted are; the former Chairman of INEC, Professor Maurice Iwu, ex governors, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor and, Emmanuel Uduaghan, former acting governor of Kogi State, Clarence Olafemi, Senator Ayo Arise, PDP governorship candidate in Benue State, Terhemen Tarzoor, former Anambra State Electoral Commissioner (REC), Professor C.E Onukogu, Senator Hosea Ehinlanwo, former deputy governor of Sokoto State, Mukhtari Shehu Shagari among others. Among those in the indicted category are late Senator Tanko Ayuba and former Minister of State of Labour and Employment, James Ocholi.
Part of the baggage of our democratic experience in the last 17 years was the carry-over of violence, thuggery and electoral malpractices that characterised the First and Second Republics. While we have been in this democratic experiment for the last 17 years, the NHRC’s report covered just a period of four years between 2007 and 2011. It is therefore germane to ask NHRC to explain why it left the years before 2007 and after 2011 especially as the commission did not deem it fit to explain. On this I’m on the same page with the ‘culprits’ who have been asking ‘why me, what are the criteria? etc, and have variously protested their inclusion in the list, because time has elapsed and appears lost, even though NHRC has not been known for partisanship all this while.
The report has vested the power of prosecution on the offices of the AG and the IG. So many cases have gone cold in this country owing to the ‘limitations’ of these two offices.
They are either overwhelmed or their heads do not have the political will to investigate and prosecute certain persons. How can the NHRC give them another herculean job and expect results?
Besides some of these technical questions, almost all the prominent politicians that were indicted have queried their inclusion. They have also threatened to take legal actions to clear their names and further establish their innocence. Therefore the commission is in for a long drawn litigation. We may never know the details of the criteria used, but people like Prof Osunbor, himself a professor of law, who lost his second term bid to Gov Adams Oshiomhole, and now in the same party with him, are not associated with violence. He said that much in his television interview at the weekend. And what does the commission hope to achieve by including James Ocholi and Tanko Ayuba? Both are late. Who will (and can) prosecute the dead? This has further trivialised, perhaps a well-intentioned goal of trying to cleanse the electoral system.
The chairman of the committee had noted that their report was also necessitated by INEC’s failure all this while, to prosecute electoral offenders. Instructively, the former chairman of INEC and former REC, Prof Iwu and Prof Onukoju respectively were also named as offenders in the report. Here is the crux of the matter. No one should expect officials of INEC at whatever level to indict and prosecute themselves. It is imperative that we as a people and civil societies advocate, in conjunction with the current INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, who at different fora had canvassed for the establishment of an independent body to try electoral offenders, include their staff. And this calls for the buy-in of the National Assembly in our collective efforts to reform INEC and make it better.
In a nutshell, the NHRC report is not consistent with the current reality, in view of the limitations of some of the agencies the cases are referred to. Almost every public personality, whose name appeared on the list, has rejected and threatened court actions because according to them, you do not seek the trial and prosecution of people you have already indicted or ridiculed publicly? I do hope NHRC did not do a wishy-washy job; otherwise the commission should prepare itself for a long-drawn battle over defamation of character and political persecution.
