The Independent National Electoral Commission has said that
only security agencies can investigate any party, person or company that
violates any part of the country’s Electoral Act.
The commission which however admitted that it had the power to prosecute
violators of the Act, explained that before it could do so, it must have
concrete evidence before it.
INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Oluwole
Osaze-Uzzi, stated this following an enquiry on whether the commission would
investigate and prosecute the Peoples Democratic Party, companies and
individuals who donated over N21.27bn to President Goodluck Jonathan’s
electioneering.
Osaze-Uzzi said, “Before you prosecute, won’t you investigate? Before
you prosecute somebody, the person has to be investigated. If a person shoots
another man on the street, the police cannot just charge him to court. They
will have to follow a process.
“Don’t forget that INEC has no powers to investigate. But it has powers
to prosecute. It is the security agencies that investigate. We don’t have
investigative powers; but we have prosecutorial powers. If they have
investigated and found out that somebody was wrong, we will prosecute that
person.
“It is after investigation that we can prosecute. And there must be an
evidence that a crime has been committed.”
When asked if the commission had contacted any of the security agencies
over the issue, he replied: “I can’t say yes or no as of now.”
A national commissioner in INEC, who spoke with our correspondent on the
condition of anonymity from Canada, also said he was not aware if security
agencies had started probing anyone over the donations.
He said, “I am not aware whether the PDP is under investigation for now.
I don’t know and I have not asked. I can find out later or after the holidays.
“Do you know of anybody that spent more money for the party? Do you know
anybody who violated the Electoral Act? Are you familiar with the law of
donation of money to political parties? If yes, can you tell me one person who
has broken that law? Is it a question of whose money or that they have exceeded
the limit? Don’t deal with morality, deal with legality.
“There is a limit to what a sitting President can spend. Give me evidence
that the President has spent over what he was supposed to have spent.
Unofficially, I don’t know if investigation by security agencies is now on
because I am out of the country and I have not asked colleagues in relevant
departments. There is a process that would be followed.”
When contacted, the Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu,
said the Police did not know about the donations and the alleged violation of
the electoral law by the donors.
“So far, there is no complainant, before us “Ojukwu added.
Some lawyers, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria, had on Tuesday
called for the prosecution of the PDP and those who donated the
N21. 27bn for electioneering.
They said in separate interviews that the donors breached the Electoral
Act by exceeding the limit stipulated by the Electoral Act.
Section 91(9) of the Act reads, “An individual
or other entity shall not donate more than N1,000,000 to any candidate.”
Sub-section 10 of the same section adds that a presidential
candidate “who knowingly acts in contravention of this section commits an
offence and on conviction is liable to a maximum fine of N1m or imprisonment
for a term of 12 months or both.”
Section 91(2) of the same Act states, “The maximum election expenses to
be incurred by a candidate at a presidential election shall be N1bn.”
Meanwhile, the International Society for Social Justice and
Human Rights, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to
probe the sources of funds donated for Jonathan’s presidential campaign.
The Chancellor of the ISSJHR, Dr. Jackson Omenazu, described the
development as a flagrant abuse of the Electoral Act.
Omanazu, in a telephone interview on Wednesday, explained that
the donation was aimed at gaining a ‘criminal
advantage’ over other political parties.
He observed that since 80 per cent of the donors had at one time or the
other been entrusted with public funds, the probability was high that some of
them must have mismanaged such.
Omenazu said, “ From our investigation, 80 per cent of the donors are
those who are being entrusted with public funds. What they (PDP governors and
other donors) have done is to morally kidnap Mr. President so that he will not
be able to ask them to give account of how they managed public funds at their
disposal.
“The PDP governors should have donated from their individual pockets and
not money belonging to their states. It is a flagrant abuse of the required
financial regulations and there is a need for EFFC’s intervention.
“Mr. President’s silence is a tacit approval of corruption. Political
parties’ fund raising is supposed to come from the grassroots.”
Tags
Politics