The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) have committed to securing voting rights for inmates.
Speaking on Friday in Abuja when he received Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, the NCoS controller-general, on a courtesy visit to the commission’s headquarters, Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, said the electoral body is mindful of existing court judgements affirming the right of certain categories of inmates to vote.
Yakubu cited rulings of the federal high court in Benin on December 16, 2014, and the court of appeal in Benin on December 7, 2018, which upheld the right of five plaintiffs awaiting trial to participate in elections.
He said based on the combined provisions of article 25 of the international convention on civil and political rights (1966) and section 25 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) on citizenship, the court affirmed the rights of plaintiffs who were inmates awaiting trial to vote inelections.
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“However, the judges ruled that the right to vote is only excisable when asserted as it is a choice to be exercised voluntarily by a citizen and not a duty to be imposed by force of authority,” he said.
“You may recall that in recognition of this situation, the Commission had several discussions with the correctional service on how inmates who wish to register and vote in elections can do so. We even set up a joint technical committee to review all the issues involved and advise on the way forward. You availed us of data on the locations and types of federal correctional facilities nationwide.
“You also provided us with statistics on the various categories of inmates, the majority of whom are on remand awaiting trial and who may actually be registered voters. For our part, we raised the issue of access to the correctional facilities for voter registration, creation of polling units and voter education.”
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Yakubu said working together, the opportunity of the ongoing electoral reform can be seized for a clear legal provision that will specifically cover citizens serving time in correctional facilities.
“Doing so will also clarify the provision of Section 12(1)[e] of the Electoral Act 2022 on voter registration, a precondition for voting in elections, which restricts the exercise to a Nigerian citizen who ‘is not subject to any legal incapacity to vote under any law, rule or regulations in force in Nigeria’,” he said.
“There are various interpretations as to whether this provision relates to inmate on death row, those serving life sentence or those convicted for treason. Our immediate task is to engage with the National Assembly for a clear legal provision on inmate voting. Thereafter, we can address the specific issues that may arise in the course of implementation.”
In his remarks, Nwakuche highlighted the overlooked status of inmates in Nigeria’s democratic process.
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He said out of over 81,000 inmates in Nigerian facilities, more than 66 percent are awaiting trial and are, under the law, presumed innocent.
“Even for the convicted, some rights remain intact, including the right to vote,” he said.
Nwakuche called for practical steps to implement the court decisions and legislative resolutions, urging INEC to work with the NCoS in addressing grey areas and technical requirements so that inmates are not excluded from the democratic process.
He emphasised that enabling inmates to vote would strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and uphold the principle that no eligible citizen should be denied participation in governance.
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