The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been directed by a Federal High Court in Abuja to identify the officials participating in the continuous voter registration (CVR) process in polling places across the nation who registered minors. The deadline for doing so is 90 days.The offenders must be produced and turned over to the proper law enforcement agency for an investigation and potential prosecution, according to a ruling by Justice Obiora Egwuatu.
In addition, Justice Egwuatu issued a mandatory order requiring INEC to immediately remove from its national voter registration all names of minor voters from every polling place in the federation that were listed on her website. These names were identified and compiled by the plaintiff and are included in "Exhibit A," which is attached to the affidavit supporting the original summons.
The judge also issued an obligatory order, requiring the commission to provide the plaintiff with a certified true copy (CTC) of the updated national voter registration list, which includes every Nigerian citizen who is eligible to vote, within ninety days.
Alternatively, he mandated that the electoral umpire post on its website, within ninety days of the judgment date, the updated national voters' register listing every individual eligible to vote in the nation.
Additionally, he provided affirmative answers to all six of the plaintiff's inquiries. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), INEC was sued as the only defendant by the plaintiff, Rev. Mike Agbon, in the original summons filed on Match 17 under the case number FHC/ABJ/CS/367/2023, via his attorney Desmond Yamah.
The plaintiff asked six points in the lawsuit, one of which was "whether the defendant is legally and constitutionally required to conduct credible CVR in the Federal Republic of Nigeria."
The question is whether the defendant must strictly abide by the rules of the constitution and its enabling instrument, the Electoral Act, 2022, or else
"If the defendant enrolled minors, such as babies and toddlers, during the CVR, it is unconstitutional and criminal according to Section 23 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
"Among other things, does the defendant's admission that it has a significant number of underage, illegal, and illegible voters listed in its voters' register absolve it of any legal repercussions for registering underage voters as specified in Sections 12 & 23 of the Electoral Act, 2022?
Consequently, Agbon requested "a mandatory order compelling and directing the defendant to forthwith within a period of one month to identify, produce, and handover its officials that are involved in the registration of the underage in each polling unit across the federation for investigation and prosecution by the appropriate law enforcement agency," among other such demands.
The plaintiff argued that the unfortunate problem of the election processes' lack of credibility has been a persistent issue that has seriously troubled the political space for a long time, especially since the nation's return to democratic rule in May 1999.
He stated that INEC updates and maintains the national voters' registry in accordance with the terms of the Electoral Act.
According to Agbon, the national register of voters was posted on the electoral umpire's website between November 12, 2022, and November 25, 2022, and the electoral umpire conducted CVR worldwide before to the general elections of 2023.
He said that the commission registered voters who were underage, in violation of the Electoral Act (above), which specified the requirements for registration in detail, after looking through the national voter registration database.
The plaintiff used compiled copies of the underage registration from the INEC website to support his claims, designating it as "Exhibit A."
He informed the court that on November 23, 2022, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC, gave an assurance to Nigerians at a national stakeholders' forum on elections hosted by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR) that the commission would diligently clean up the register in advance of the elections based on the observations of Nigerians.
Agbon stated that he formally requested—through his attorney—that the commission provide him with the names and voter rolls of those who are underage and ineligible, but the panel angrily rejected and disregarded the request.
Nevertheless, INEC did not appear in court or submit a defense, even after receiving hearing notices and legal procedures.
Judge Egwuatu delivered the ruling on November 28; however, a certified authentic copy was sighted by NAN on Monday. In this copy, Justice Egwuatu found that the requirements for voter registration were outlined in Sections 77 (2) and 117 (2) of the Constitution as well as Section 12 of the Electoral Act.
He claims that these sections all include the requirement that the voter be a Nigerian citizen, reside in Nigeria, and be at least eighteen years old.
"The voters enrolled by the defendant in Exhibit 'A' are underage, meaning they have not reached the age of eighteen, as I have previously determined in this judgment.
"This means that the defendant's registration officers and an update officer did not fulfill their obligations to register voters in compliance with the Electoral Act and the Constitution," he stated.
He cited Section 120(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, stating that any officer who violated their official duties committed an offense and would be subject to a maximum fine of N500,000, a possible 12-month jail sentence, or both.