By Hosea Parah, Abuja

The National Human Rights Commission has urged the House of Representatives to pass the Electoral Offences Commission bill.

The statement released by the Deputy Director Public Affairs of the NHRC, Fatimah Mohammed, noted that the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu made the call in Abuja on Thursday.

The statement read in part, “The National Human Rights Commission has called on the House of Representatives to pass the Electoral Offences Commission bill like its counterpart in the Senate, to enable the country to deal with cases of electoral violence, which has characterised some of the elections in the past.

“The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu OFR, SAN who made this call in Abuja on Thursday noted that if the bill is passed by the House of Representatives and subsequently signed into law by the President, it will empower the Independent National Electoral Commission to concentrate on organising credible polls while the responsibility of prosecuting electoral offenders will rest on the proposed National Electoral Offences Commission.

“The Chief Human Rights Officer of Nigeria recalled that the Senate passed the Electoral Offences bill since 14th of July 2021 and forwarded to the House of Representatives and therefore wondered why the bill has remained pending, despite the inherent value it will add to the electoral process from the 2023 general election onwards.

“The learned silk observed that although Section 145 of the Electoral Act 2022 empowers INEC to prosecute electoral offenders in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, it does not have the capacity to investigate, arrest and prosecute electoral offenders.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria observed that the said incapacity on the part of INEC has constituted a serious impediment in prosecuting electoral offences and other forms of misconduct before, during and after elections in the country.

The NHRC boss therefore joined his voice to the call for the implementation of the Justice Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reforms recommendations particularly as it relates to establishment of National Electoral Offences Commission to deal with all forms of electoral offences so as to rekindle people’s confidence in the electoral process.

“The legal luminary recalled that the commission had carried out an electoral accountability project wherein it made far reaching recommendations to the Federal Government after painstakingly looking into the past orders and judgments that had arisen from the election petition cases, so as to ensure the protection of the electoral rights of citizens.

“For instance, the commission recommended to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice should prosecute certain persons who the Election Petition Tribunal or the Court of Appeal had indicted for misconducts during the 2007-2011 general elections and consequently ordered their prosecution.

“Finally, he expressed optimism that the current MOVE project, Mobilising Voters for Election is among other things targeted at the achieving the following: 1) ensuring improved citizens participation in the elections 2) ensure that political parties and candidates present a clear human rights direction in their manifestos and 3) ensure that the law enforcement agents observe global best practices in carrying out their duties, including protecting the voters and their votes during the elections.”