We’ll arrest underage voters —INEC
By Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has said under-aged persons who attempt to vote anywhere today would be arrested.
He said such persons would not be allowed to exercise franchise not guaranteed them in the Nigerian Constitution.
He made the declaration Friday in Abuja at his daily media briefing.
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He appealed to eligible voters who may sight underage persons on the queue, waiting for accreditation to inform the police.
He further warned those with the evil motive to use underage persons to manipulate the process to shelve such plan
“There is statutory age for eligibility. If you come across anyone that is apparently underage waiting for accreditation, inform the police. Underage persons and anyone trying to sponsor underage voters, will be arrested. I assure you that we won’t tolerate that.”
He also announced that collation of presidential election results would commence in Abuja by 6pm on Sunday.
The acting Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Adamu in his opening remarks said his men would be on ground at polling units to secure the electorate, INEC officials and election materials.
“Police will be at Polling Units to protect electorate, the INEC staff and election materials. They won’t be armed but we have a tactical unit of the Force that will be patrolling to ensure that the process isn’t disrupted. They will be armed. If you commit thuggery or disrupt voting, you will be arrested and prosecuted. If result is announced those wiling to make trouble, we will put them in check. If you have no business with voting and you aren’t an INEC official stay away from voting centres,” he said.
INEC okays Zamfara APC
Meanwhile, INEC has restored the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the ballot for National Assembly, Governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Zamfara.
The commission disclosed this in a statement issued by Mr Festus Okoye, a National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, on Friday in Abuja.
Okoye said that the restoration was in compliance Zamfara State High Court‘s decision, explaining that INEC had consistently maintained that it would always obey court judgments and orders.
“In the case of the APC in Zamfara, the Federal High Court, Abuja and Zamfara State High Court issued conflicting orders relating to participation in the two strands of elections scheduled for Feb. 23 and March 9.
“While the former ruled that the APC, having failed to conduct party primaries cannot field candidates in the said election, the latter decided that it can field candidates having conducted valid primaries.
“However, the Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Feb. 21 set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja for `lack or want of jurisdiction on the part on the lower court.’
“This in effect means that the Zamfara State High Court‘s decision that the APC can field candidates for the National Assembly, Governorship and State Assembly elections is the only valid and subsisting order.
“Consequently, the Commission has today, in compliance with the said order, restored the APC to the ballot in the National Assembly, Governorship and State House of Assembly elections scheduled for Feb. 23 and March 9.’’
Marafa’s counsel, Ozekhome kicks
A human right lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), on Friday said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is obligated and legally bound to stand by its earlier position that the All Progressives Congress (APC), having never conducted any primaries in Zamfara state, have no candidates in the forthcoming elections in the state, except the presidential election.
Ozekhome, who is also the counsel to Senator Kabiru Marafa and his group, in another matter over Zamfara state congress, said in a statement that, any
other act by INEC in fielding any candidates from the Governor Abdulaziz Yari’s group will be illegal, unconstitutional, null, void and offices no effect whatsoever.
In the statement titled, “The status quo remains on APC Zamfara imbroglio”, the senior lawyer said, the judgement of the Court of Appeal, Abuja division delivered on Thursday, did not grant INEC any order to revive candidates of the APC from Zamfara state.
The appealate Court, in the judgement, dismissed the appeal filed by APC challenging the judgment of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, of the Federal High Court which had affirmed INEC’s stand that the APC did not conduct any primary election in Zamfara state and that INEC was right to have rejected APC’s candidates from Zamfara state.
He said, the dismissal followed an application by APC to withdraw the appeal. The application was granted and the appeal dismissed accordingly.
“Next was the cross appeal filed by Yari and Co on jurisdiction and cause of action. The judgment given by the Court of Appeal clearly stated that the appeal partially succeeded and went ahead to set aside the judgment of the lower court on jurisdiction only, but refused to grant the cause of action component of the appeal”, Ozekhome added.
According to him, the cross appeal partially failed because, from the onset, APC had a complaint against INEC only.
Governor Yari had applied to join the case voluntarily. And Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, in her judgment held that APC did not seek any reliefs against the second to 6th defendants” (That is Governor Yari and co).
He said, the fact that Governor Yari and co did not file any counter claim or cross Appeal against the APC’s suit, the trial court held that Yari and co “have nothing to add to this case”.
“From the foregoing, it is clear that the cross Appeal by Yari and his group before the Court of Appeal, having partially failed, becomes at best, a mere academic exercise bereft of any utilitarian value to the entire case.
“The false assertion that the Court of Appeal had cleared the way for the APC to participate in Saturday’s election is therefore a lie from the pit of hell.
“It is nothing short of the desperate manoeuvers by frustrated politician holding on any available straw to smuggle themselves willy nilly into Saturday’s election. This cannot work.
“INEC is hereby reminded that there exists in addition to the above legal obstacles, a subsisting appeal which arose from the Zamfara state High Court judgment which is still extant and pending before the Sokoto division of the Court of Appeal , in Appeal no: CA/S/32/2019.
“In any event, the judgment of the Federal High Court , going by the judgment of the Court of Appeal still partially succeeded, since the Court of Appeal refused to make any clear mandatory orders directing INEC to receive any candidates from Yari group for the purpose of Saturday’s elections”, he said.
“INEC is hereby reminded that there exists in addition to the above legal obstacles, a subsisting appeal which arose from the Zamfara state High Court judgment which is still extant and pending before the Sokoto division of the Court of Appeal , in Appeal no: CA/S/32/2019. In any event, the judgment of the Federal High Court , going by the judgment of the Court of Appeal still partially succeeded, since the Court of Appeal refused to make any clear mandatory orders directing INEC to receive any candidates from Yari group for the purpose of Saturday’s elections. INEC is therefore
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