The last governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states have been won and lost, with the possibility of further contestations before election tribunals. But, the level of violence witnessed, which many described as unprecedented, has again reawakened the call for the establishment of an Election Offences Commission to prosecute electoral offenders. Eric Ikhilae reports.
The Women Leader of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Ochadamu, Ofu Local Government Area, Kogi State, Mrs. Salome Abuh, died on November 18, while resting in her home. Reports have it that some political thugs stormed her residence, set the house ablaze and prevented her from exiting while the house was completely destroyed.
Mrs. Abuh became an addition to the number of deaths recorded before, during and after the November 16, governorship and legislative elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states. Although there is no accurate figure, about 20 lives were reportedly lost, prompting many to describe the exercise as the most violent in recent times.
Many observers were alarmed about the level of violence deployed, particularly in Kogi State. The Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR), a coalition of civil society groups, whose members monitored the election, stated that “the levels of violence witnessed in the two state governorship elections are unprecedented, alarming and raises questions about the credibility of the elections.
“With particular reference to the elections in Kogi State, the levels of violence perpetrated by the two major political parties and politicians, evident sometimes in collusion with security personnel, seriously undermined the elections, deterred voters and made the exercise a farce.”
The group, in its “Second interim report” on the governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states, released in Abuja on November 17, regretted that “Nigerians had expected that the lessons learnt from the 2019 general elections by stakeholders, especially by political parties, the police and other security services would be taken to improve on the conduct of these elections.
“Unfortunately, this was not the case and both elections have proved to be a disappointment. The governorship elections conducted in Kogi and Bayelsa states represent a major setback for Nigeria’s electoral democracy.”
The NCSSR added that the level of violence in the elections has made it imperative for the country to create a body, whose responsibility would be to ensure the prosecution of electoral offenders, else the electoral process would remain perpetually imperiled.
The group, led by a lawyer and rights activist, Clement Nwankwo, said: “In the light of the security failures, violence, thuggery and general abuse witnessed in the elections, the Situation Room calls for an urgent passage and implementation of an Electoral Offences Commission law to address all issues related to electoral abuse.”
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), whose members monitored the elections, spoke in similar vein. It queried the credibility of the process and suggested that urgent steps be taken to preserve the sanctity of the electoral process and human lives in future.
The unsavoury experience from the last elections in Bayelsa and Kogi has, no doubt, reawakened the demand, by many, for the creation of a body to coordinate the prosecution of election offenders and others found violating the election process by any means, as was recommended by the Justice Mohammmed Uwais-led 22-man Electoral Reform Committee (ERC).
Past cases of election violence
The story is generally told about how electoral violence that erupted in the Western Region precipitated the collapse of the First Republic.
Since the return of democracy in 1999, political actors in the country appeared not to have learnt from the experience of the First Republic. In fact, as noted by many observers, politicians appear to have upped the ante in their promotion of electoral violence.
Before the 2007 general election, the President was reported to have said the election was a do-or-die for him. And true to his word, the elections held that year is often cited as the most-flawed in recent history. Lives were lost, individuals were bruised and battered, while properties were destroyed.
Over 800,000 electoral offenders were identified during the election, among whom was a Deputy Governor, who was shown on national television, stealing a ballot box.
The 2011 presidential elections were described by observers as the bloodiest since the restoration of civilian government in 1999. Human rights organisations estimated that, at least, a thousand were killed. Other observers suggested that the death total may have been higher.
After the 2011 presidential election, no fewer than 800 people were reported dead across the northern states of the country, as estimated by the Human Rights Watch (HRW). The election featured the current President, Muhammadu Buhari and then President Goodluck Jonathan.
Although then President Jonathan stated, before the 2015 presidential election, that his ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian, many still died owing to election violence.
The last general election was no exception. According to an independent research firm, SBM Intelligence, about 233 people were killed in the run-up to the 2019 elections. Some groups put the number of deaths on the day of elections at around 40.
The case of special election offenders court/commission
Perturbed by the credibility baggage he was made to bear, in view of the process that produced him, then President Umar Yar’Adua constituted the Uwais Committee on August 28, 2007, with a specific mandate to “examine the entire electoral process with a view to ensuring that we raise the quality and standard of our general elections and thereby deepen our democracy.”
At the conclusion of its task, the committee, in its report, submitted to the President in December 2008, made far-reaching recommendations, among which was the creation of a Special Electoral Offences Commission, with the responsibility of trying electoral offenders.
The Yar’Adua-led administration accepted majority of the committee’s recommendations and was to begin implementation when the President took ill and eventually did not return to office.
President Jonathan, who succeeded Yar’Adua, implemented the policy parts of the recommendations and sent the entire report to the National Assembly for consideration of areas requiring legal reforms and amendments to the Constitution.
Nothing concrete was heard on the issue until another round of violence, which was witnessed during the 2011 general election.
As a response, Jonathan constituted his own 22-man committee, led by Sheikh Ahmed Lemu, a retired grand khadi (Islamic judge). The committee named: “The Presidential Committee on the 2011 Election Violence and Civil Disturbances” was mandated to investigate the causes of the violence and to make recommendations as to how to prevent it in the future.
The committee later submitted its report, following which the Federal Government issued a white paper on its recommendations, and agreed to, among others, set up of a special tribunal to try electoral offences.
After deliberating on the White Paper as submitted by the review committee headed by Ms. Ama Pepple, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which was presided over by Jonathan, also directed the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, to liaise with the Inspector General of Police (IG) to proscribe all groups set up by politicians for use as thugs during elections.
No major development occurred on the issue again until Buhari mounted the saddle. Rather than word with the materials gathered by his predecessors, Buhari also set up his own committee to review the electoral process.
He set up a 24-member Electoral Reforms Committee in October 2016. It was led by a former President of the Senate, Ken Nnamani. The committee submitted its report to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami on May 2, 2017, in which it equally suggested the establishment of an Electoral Offences Commission.
Based on the recommendations by the Nnamani committee, the Federal Government, last year, came up with some electoral bills – Constitution Alteration Bill (2018); Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill (2018); and the Electoral Offences Commission Bill (2018) – which are now before the National Assembly.
Why electoral violence persists
Until the Bills are passed and the Executive arm implements the law by setting up an Election Offences Commission, violence will remain a recurring factor in the election circle.
The Lemu panel was reported to have noted that the government’s failure to implement recommendations by previous committees and panels “facilitated the wide spread sense of impunity in the culprits and perpetrators of crimes and violence in the Nigerian society.
Observers argued that political impunity is also influenced by the lucrative spoils of electoral victory, because politics in the country has become so lucrative that people are ready to risk all to win elections.
This is because the actual motivation for a public office holder is not to render service, but to amass wealth and wield influence.
Rights activist Femi Falana (SAN) alluded to this when he noted that election in the country has become a war for the ruling class. “This is because, if you win, you win in all manifestations. You win the battle for the control of the treasury, you win the battle for impunity, and you win the battle to destroy the values that we hold dear in this country,” he said.
Falana, while speaking at the “Digital Voting Summit 2019” held on November 18, in Abuja, by a group, Restore Naija, argued that the perpetrators of electoral violence and their sponsors are encouraged by state’s inaction.
He noted that, while over 1000 thugs and other criminal elements were arrested during the 2019 general selections, nobody has been charged to any court as at today. Falana said he learnt from an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the police only provided INEC with 14 casefiles just last week.
Nwankwo, who is also the Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), argued that the unwillingness of the political leadership to reform the electoral process accounts for why election remains the way it is.
He added: “Clearly, what has happened in Kogi tells us that we have to go back to the drawing board And I am not quite sure where the drawing board is now, because where we are today is very, very sad for our democracy.
“We worry because when l look at where we are coming from, we had thought that 20 years after this country would have been on a trajectory, looking forward to say we are first, an example to West Africa and an example to the rest of the world, given the experience we have heard in democracy. “
Nwankwo, who also featured at the summit, recounted past attempts by previous governments, beginning from 2010 to reform the electoral law to enhance transparency and curb manipulations and violence during elections. He noted that the efforts have not yielded the desired results, because the members of the political leadership do not see the need for a reform.
Another lawyer, Oluwole Adaja, spoke in similar vein. He argued that where the sponsors of violence during elections are the political leaders, who can easily procure the services of security agencies, the problem will persist.
Adaja said: “Who are those financing these people? They are the politicians, the powerful ones, who are in government at all levels. They are the one, who make the laws and decide on policies. The law enforcement agencies, particularly the police, who are to conduct investigation and effect arrest are underfunded. They lack necessary facilities. They sometimes, become accomplices.
“In the case in Kogi, for instance, there were allegations that some of those involved in the violence and disruption of the electoral process were security personnel. There were also reports that some were fake policemen. But how many were arrested? How many will be prosecuted?” Adaja asked.
This position finds support in the final report of the European Union Election Observation Mission, released after the 2015 elections. The mission noted that achieving convictions against electoral offenders is difficult due to “intervention of political sponsors.” The report equally accused the police of “systematically depoliticising the cases and downplaying their severity.”
Why INEC is handicapped
In a presentation made in Lagos last year, a senior INEC official, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, explained why her commission was handicapped and sought the prompt establishment of the Election Offences Commission.
She spoke at a two-day training for INEC legal officers and police officers in Lagos, held on July 30 and 31, 2018 at the Best Western Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
She observed that the current arrangement where INEC engages in the prosecution of electoral offences was a burden on the commission. She noted that the commission did not have the capacity to prosecute all cases in all parts of the country at the same time.
The INEC official said the function would be better handled by a special body set up for electoral offences. She said that a Bill for the establishment of the commission was receiving attention at the National Assembly, and if eventually established, it would relieve INEC of the prosecutorial function and allow the commission to focus on its core functions.
The way out
To Falana, Nwankwo and Adaja, violence will remain a tool for electoral manipulation in the country until the political leadership turn a new leaf and the people decide that enough is enough.
Falana sounded a note of caution, to the effect that, should “the current trend of brigandage, unprecedented electoral violence and thuggery continue, I am afraid, by 2023, we will be thinking about less than 10 percent of registered voters turning up for election.”
He also warned that if no concrete steps were taken against “these characters, who have hijacked the political process, no system would work unless we are ready to challenge the reign of impunity by the ruling class.”
He added: “If we are therefore going to address this problem, we have to decide, as a people, the type of country we want. What had just happened in Bayelsa and Kogi states is what I call gunboat democracy. It was a war.
“Anybody who participates in a war knows that he/she is going to lose his/her life. That is why the number of voters will continue to reduce, if we fail to address impunity on the part of the ruling class.”
Nwankwo was of the view that a reform of the electoral process would only be possible with the commitment of the key players, who dictate the nation’s political temple, patterns and forms.
He said: “It rests on the Executive and Legislature to ensure that we have a legal framework that is very, very transparent and gives us a clean and clear electoral process.
“I think, if the present political leadership, including the President, the leaders of the National Assembly and state Houses to Assembly sits down and say we want to leave a legacy of free and fair election for our people, it can be achieved.
“But, right now, what we are seeing today is a very, very minute; very, very selfish and very, very self-serving calculations that makes it difficult for us to move forward,” Nwankwo said.
Adaja hailed the suggestion for the creation of a special forum to try electoral offender, but added that “it should not be limited to those we see engaging in violence during elections. We should look further and identify those financing these perpetrators of violence and also extend the punishment to them.
“I will suggest that where prosecution is done and conviction secured, the convicts should have their assets confiscated. Their sponsors should also be identified and prosecuted. If these are done, I believe electoral violence will be drastically reduced, if not totally eradicated,” Adaja said.