The Independent Electoral Commission of Nigeria boss (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has said that prisoners deserve voting rights.
He said this on Friday while receiving the Comptroller General of NCoS, Sylvester Nwakuche, at the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja.
He affirmed the judgment of the Appeal Court, granting inmates the right to register and vote in any elections.
He said, “We are aware that the right to vote is a human right which cannot be taken away from a citizen on account of time being served in a correctional facility. In many parts of the world, including some African countries such as Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, where our officials observed elections, inmates exercised the right to vote,”
“As you are aware, an election is a process governed by law. Working together, we can seize the opportunity of the ongoing electoral reform for a clear legal provision that will specifically cover citizens serving time in our correctional facilities,” he said.
According to him, the right to vote is a fundamental human right that should not be denied to any citizen, including those held in correctional facilities.
He said :“In many parts of the world, including some African countries such as Ghana, Kenya and South Africa where our officials observed elections, inmates exercised the right to vote.
He added that the Commission is aware of judgments of the Federal High Court in Benin delivered on 16 December 2014 and the Court of Appeal, also in Benin, delivered on 7 December 2018, which affirmed the right of five plaintiffs awaiting trial to vote in elections.
He explained that, based on Article 25 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and Section 25 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, the courts ruled that awaiting-trial inmates have the right to vote.
