The Independent National Electoral Commission and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) have appointed 18 lawyers including two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to prosecute electoral offenders.
The 18 lawyers – all legal officers of both INEC and the EFCC – will prosecute electoral offences relating to financial crimes arising from the 2023 general elections.
The first SAN on the list – Abdulaziz Sani – is from the electoral umpire, while the other SAN – Rotimi Oyedepo – is from the anti-graft agency.
The other lawyers from both commissions include Nasara H. Auta, Odinaka Ikoroha, Adeyemi Olufemi, Mahmud Tafarki, Ahmed Mohammed, Amaka Okwuaka, Enoch M. Akafa, and Temple Ukaegbu.
The others are Samuel Daji, Adaka Mainforce Ekwu, Soare Adebayo Benedict, Arumemi Moses, Abubakar Aliyu, Ikhamaede Ramai, Andrew Akojn, and Khalid Sanusi Sabo.
On March 14, INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said the commission was setting up a legal team to deal with cases of electoral offenders during the February 25 presidential and National Assembly polls.
Similarly, the EFCC in March revealed that it arrested no fewer than 65 persons on 18 March 2023 across the 28 states where governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections were conducted, for alleged voter inducement.
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