During the public hearing of the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on attacks on Independent National Electoral Commission offices across the nation on Friday, there was some misunderstanding.
Yusuf Abdullahi, a deputy director and representative of the Attorney-General of the Federation, told the House Committee that neither INEC nor any security agency had asked for anyone caught attacking the electoral body’s buildings to be prosecuted. This caused a lot of confusion.
The lawmakers kept going, saying that the police had said they had caught the attackers and held them accountable.
While Mr. Abdullahi disagreed with the first claim, he then said that the OAGF had received requests for prosecution from the DSS but was unable to give more information.
The lawmakers eventually asked him to leave and come back later.
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Lawmakers are worried that attacks on INEC offices have continued even though the people who were arrested have not been charged.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who is the chairman of INEC and was at the hearing, said that so far in 2019, 50 incidents have been reported from 15 states.
Recent attacks on election offices in the South-East have made people worried about where the general elections will take place in 2023.
A suspected arsonist set fire to an INEC office in Enugu State’s Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area about four months ago.
Additionally, militants in Ebonyi State set ablaze two INEC offices in May 2021. The offices are situated in the state’s local government regions of Ezza North and Izzi.
In May 2021, a second INEC building was also set on fire in Imo State, in the southeast of Nigeria.
The commission’s office in the Awgu Local Government Area office in Enugu State was again set on fire in September 2021.
Attacks on security agencies and INEC facilities in the south-east and south-central regions have been blamed on the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
However, the gang has consistently denied taking part in the attacks.
IPOB is an organisation that advocates for the formation of an independent state of Biafra from regions of southeast and south-central Nigeria.
