Nigeria Court Affirms Prisoners’ Right To Vote

The Court of Appeal Benin Division on Friday granted the prayers of five prisoners, seeking the order of the court to direct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to include all prisoners in the voter’s register.

Justice S. Oseji, delivered the lead judgment, on behalf of Justice Helen Ogunwumiju.

The appeal was filed by five inmates, on behalf of other inmates in the Nigerian prisons.

Those that filed the appeal are Victor Emenuwe, Onome Inaye, Kabiru Abu, Osagie Iyekekpolor and Modugu Odion.

The judgment affirmed the judgment granted by a Federal High Court in 2014, that prisoners can vote.

However, Oseji did not grant a declaration that INEC liaise with the Nigeria Prison Service to create a registration centre at various prisons across the country.

Speaking to newsmen after the judgment, Counsel to the appellant, President Aigbokhan of the Initiative for Rural Development, Information and Legal Advocacy (IRDILA), urged INEC to commence immediate registration of inmates across the country for them to participate in next year’s election.

Aigbokhan said they would appeal some aspects of the decision of the Court of Appeal.

According to him, “Prison inmates have their community. Polling units should be located there.

ScandalsNews Thinks that this could be another form of Vote Buying using Reduced Sentence and other forms of pardon to coarse the inmates.

If the free men on the streets of Nigeria are intimidated, coarsed and financially induced during electioneering processes... what do you think will happen in the prison houses?

Think on it!