INEC Provides Reasons for Delay in Charging Arrested Vote Buyers in Anambra

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained why individuals arrested for vote-buying during the recent Anambra State governorship election have not yet been charged to court.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ election forum organized by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room on Thursday in Abuja, INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, said that while the commission has the statutory power to prosecute electoral offenders, the security agencies responsible for the arrests have not submitted their investigation reports.

Amupitan noted that INEC is actively collaborating with these agencies to obtain the necessary reports. “I am happy to know that you are aware that some people were arrested, and people are asking, ‘What has been done?’ We are reaching out to the police, the EFCC, and all relevant agencies. We need their investigation reports concerning those arrested,” he said.

He added, “The power of INEC is to prosecute, not to arrest. We don’t currently have the capacity to arrest. We are liaising with the law enforcement agencies to ensure those arrested will have their day in court.”

The INEC chairman also emphasized that technological integrity in elections must be paired with political accountability. He further highlighted that poor telecommunication networks remain a major obstacle to achieving real-time election result uploads from Nigeria’s 176,000 polling units, many of which are in remote locations.