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INEC, a proactive executive body in nation building

By Robert Omote
07 April 2015   |   7:37 am
The cumulative effects of the contributions of these bodies as aptly captured by S.153 (1) (a) – (n) of the 1999 CFRN (As Amended) should as a matter of concern rejuvenates any government that has gone comatested.
Jega

Jega

THE responsibilities of the executive arm of government are enormous. This has necessitated the establishment of certain executive bodies for easy administration.

The cumulative effects of the contributions of these bodies as aptly captured by S.153 (1) (a) – (n) of the 1999 CFRN (As Amended) should as a matter of concern rejuvenates any government that has gone comatested.

It is on this score that the contribution of one of the executive bodies above referred (The Independent Electoral Commission of Nigeria) will feature in this discourse. The checkered political history of Nigeria was never witnessed a tension soaked electoral process like the present following the poll shift of 14th February 2015 and the meddlesome associated with it.

Nigerians in 1999 embraced the wobbling (dis) comfort of democracy following the annulment of June 12 1993 general election once credited to be the freest election most credible.

The instrumentality of ensuring credible election had abysmally preformed their functions in such a manner that late President Yar Adua had to publicly acknowledged that he was aware of the flawed elections that brought him to power. He however promised to redeem the situation before he was snatched away by the cold hands of death.

Prof. Jega, a one time National Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to head the commission raised hopes concerning the sanctity of the body.

The conduct of the 2011 general election as a superintending officer marked a departure from the ugly and decadent past of the commission. Indeed latter improvements on the electoral process were expected as Nigerians anxiously waited for the 2015 general election.

Most noticeable in the midst of several innovations based on painstakingly researched and team work is the introduction of the Permanent Voter’s Card and the CARD READER.

The Card Reader simpliciter is a device that contains voter’s biometric details, authenticate the card and identify the voter before he is accredited, it has a SIM, stores information of the Permanent Voter’s Card, processed and provides an audit trial. It also relays information about the accreditation process to a central server.

The card reader enables the commission to know how many genuine voters got accredited in a particular polling unit. S. 84 Evidence Act 2011 encapsulates the admissibility of statement in documents produced by computers. S.84 (1) provides that: in any proceeding, a statement contained in a document produced by a computer shall be admissible as evidence of any fact stated in it of which direct oral evidence would be admissible, if it is shown that the conditions in subsection 2 of this section are satisfied in relation to the statement and computer in question.

Meanwhile, under interpretation S.258 of the same Evidence Act 2011 explains ‘Computer’ to mean “any device for storing and processing information, and any reference to information being derived from other information is a reference to its being derived from it by calculation, comparison or any other process.

In a self judicial reflection, some Nigerian judges intellectually influenced by the admissibility of documents produced by electronic device had started recognizing the importance of the computer and its accessories.

In FRN v Fani-Kayode (2010) ALL FWLR (PT 534) 181@ 189, R.14, the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division upbraided the trial Court considered not proactive in failing to admit the computer generated bank statement account tendered by the appellant and the Court of Appeal was right in upturning the ruling of the trial Court.

Furthermore, the fresh agitations against the use of the Card Reader being an electronic device is akin to technicality abusing justice.

In Ekpenetu Ofegobi (2013) ALL FWLR (Pt 680) 1333 @ 1335, the Appeal Court, Calabar Division imposes on the Courts the duty to do substantial justice and avoid technicalities when it said “The overriding interest of doing substantial justice to all parties in an action is the preoccupation of the law courts, tribunals and administrative panels of enquiries. Technical justice is no justice at all and a court of law should distance itself from it”.

Under the Third Schedule (Part 1) (Established by Section 153), S.1 Electoral Act 2011, S.15 of the Third Schedule empowers the commission to organize, undertake and supervise all elections to the offices of the President, Vice, Governor, Deputy, Member of the National Assembly and the House of Assembly of each state of the Federation.

In fairness to the commission, the introduction of the Permanent Voter’s Card and the Card Reader from the electoral process of organizing, undertaking and supervising all elections.

In retrospect, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu the chairman of the National Electoral Commission introduced option A4. which brought electoral fitness into the conduct of the June 12, 1993 general election. Prof. Jega’s introduction in 2015 is novel and innovative.

The card reader when properly put into use will help in knowing the genuine voters accredited in particular polling unit, reduces incidences of political thuggery, snatching of ballot boxes and other relevant electoral materials. Above all, it is the most credible way of determining the electoral choice of the people. Other climes have leaders and heads of executive bodies whose pro-activeness have helped to sharpen positive directions, but not in Nigerian.

In the words of Justice Galinje JCA (as he then was) in Federal Republic of Nigeria v Fani-Kayode supra “if the Nigerian nation has taken a decision to fight and eradicate corruption, legal technicalities should not constitute a roadblock to that effort. For the essence of law is to preserve and protect the economy, political and social well-being of the state and its citizenry. Any interpretation ascribed to any statute that fails to conform to this value must be ignored since that will suggest enthronement of anarchy”.

In the words of veritable Lord Denning cited in FRN v Kani-Kayode supra: “What is the argument on the other side? Only this that no case has been found in which it has been done before. That the argument does not appeal to me in the least. If we never do anything which has not been done before, we shall never get anywhere.

The law will stand still while the rest of the world goes on; and that will be bad for both”. The import of the antagonist against the use of the card reader by the commission having been used successfully in Ghana and elsewhere is that Nigerian and the commission will stand still while the rest of the world goes on; and that will be bad for both. Omote, a Benin based Legal Practitioner

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