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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
As criticisms trail the poor conduct of the 2023 presidential election and the attendant litigations, the Director, Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Nigeria (ASSPT), Dr. Sam Amadi, has urged the judiciary to prioritize electoral fraud over other crimes and inflict harsher punishments on the culprits.
He described the last elections as undemocratic, unfair and incredible. Amadi made the call at the weekend, at the launch of a report, ‘Election without Democracy: Explanatory Notes on the 2023 election’, by The Center for Public Policy and Research (CPPR), in partnership with the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, held in Abuja.
He noted that electoral fraud was a serious threat to the country’s democracy and should be treated more harshly than other crimes to dissuade future perpetrators.
He said: “The Judiciary must penalize electoral fraud more than any other crime. Elections failed because politicians deliberately rigged with INEC. Nigerians will vote simply and go home. It is those people who want to get power because they want to steal so they invest in bribing the court, bribing INEC, bribing security, and bribing everybody.”
The former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and a fellow at the Care Center for Human Rights also stressed the urgent need for the enthronement of election integrity and the restoration of public confidence in the electoral process.
Also speaking at the event, Professor Udenta Udenta underscored the importance of credible elections in sustaining democracy and urged the judiciary to play a more assertive role in combating this menace.
According to him, “The electoral process and the practice of that (2023) election are devoid of democratic practices and values.
