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The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has disclosed that efforts are ongoing to ensure prison inmates in Nigeria are able to vote.
The INEC boss emphasized that some African countries, such as Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, already allow inmates to vote, and Nigeria would soon follow suit.
Naija News reports Prof Yakubu made the submission when he played host to the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche Ofori, in Abuja during a meeting to advocate for the enfranchisement of inmates.
He noted that court decisions in 2014 and 2018 upheld the rights of specific groups of inmates, especially those awaiting trial, to participate in the electoral process, and INEC would engage with the National Assembly to obtain clarity and legal backing.
He said, “Working together, we can seize the opportunity of ongoing electoral reform for a clear legal provision that will specifically cover citizens serving time in our correctional facilities.
“Our immediate task is to engage with the National Assembly for clarity and legal backing.”
Similarly, the NCS boss pointed out that 66 percent of the more than 81,000 incarcerated Nigerians are awaiting trial and should be considered legally innocent.
Ofori emphasized the need to guarantee their fundamental human rights, including voting rights, and ensure they are properly treated.
He said, “Anybody can find themselves on the other side of the law. We need to be careful how they are treated. They have rights, and one of those rights is the right to vote. The fact that they are in incarceration should not strip them of their citizenship.
“I am here to see how we can, even if not immediately, in the nearest future, extend this fundamental right to inmates.”
The post INEC Working To Ensure Prison Inmates Start Voting In Nigeria appeared first on Naija News.
