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In its pursuit of violators of the Electoral Act, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has ensured the prosecution and conviction of an offender for illegal possession of Permanent Voters Cards.
Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman of, Information and Voter Education Committee, made the disclosure in a statement on Sunday.
The statement revealed that the offender, Nasiru Idris, was convicted by a Magistrate Court in Sokoto for being in possession of 101 PVCs.
In the same vein, a suspect whose name was not disclosed has been arraigned in a Court in Kano state having been caught with 367PVCs.
“In the last couple of weeks, the Nigeria Police has arrested some individuals found to be in illegal possession of voters’ cards in some States of the Federation. In one case, the Police has concluded investigation and handed over the case file to the Commission resulting in the successful prosecution of one Nasiru Idris at a Magistrate Court in Sokoto who was found to be in possession of 101 PVCs in contravention of Sections 117 and 145 of the Electoral Act 2002. He has been sentenced to a year in prison.
“Similarly, the Police in Kano State has arrested a man who was found to be in possession of 367 PVCs. The suspect has been charged to Court and the Commission is pursuing his prosecution.
“The Commission wishes to reiterate that it will continue to pursue all violators of the Electoral Act and ensure their diligent prosecution.”
The electoral body assured Nigerians that it was determined to ensure seamless distribution of the PVCs to eligible voters who have registered but yet to collect the item.
“Following the end of the statutory period for the display of the register of voters for claims and objections, the Commission is determined to make the collection of PVCs as seamless as possible. A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been developed. “This will be among the issues to be discussed and finalised at a retreat holding in Lagos from 28th November to 2nd December 2022 involving all the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“At the end of the retreat, the Commission will release the dates as well as the detailed procedure for the immediate collection of PVCs nationwide.
“The Commission appreciates the patience and understanding of Nigerians, especially those who registered as voters or applied for transfer/replacement of their cards from January to July 2022. In making the cards available for collection, the Commission is also working to ensure that the process is hitch-free.”
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