Ahead of the 2027 general election, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Yakubu Mahmood, says the commission would allow prison inmates to vote during elections.
Yakubu stated this while receiving the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, at the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja on Friday, August 8.
Yakubu affirmed the judgement of the Appeal Court, granting inmates the right to register and vote in any elections.
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The 2019 court ruling, which was the result of an appeal filed by five inmates on behalf of others, directed that the right to vote be upheld for prisoners.
However, the court declined to mandate INEC to establish voter registration centres within correctional facilities, leaving the practical implementation of the ruling subject to further legislative and administrative processes.
He referenced a series of meetings the Commission had with the service, to work out modalities for accommodating affected inmates, which include access to facilities, and political parties’ concerns, as well as clarifications for the category of inmates the judgment favour.
The INEC chairman re-echoed the need to seek the intervention of the National Assembly on the matter.
He assured the service of the commission’s determination to allow inmates to vote in any election, provided it is done following existing laws.
Yakubu’s comments followed Nwakuche’s case for the electoral body to extend some rights to prison inmates, particularly the right to vote.
According to him, there are over 81,000 inmates across the correctional centres, 53,460 inmates or 66 percent across the country are currently awaiting trial.
.The Comptroller General also cited a recent court ruling that upheld the rights of inmates, especially those who are awaiting trials, to vote in an election.
He urged the electoral body to consider extending voting rights to inmates, emphasizing that they should not be denied fundamental democratic participation.
The NCoS boss made a case for the inclusion of eligible inmates in the electoral process, advocating the enforcement of legal provisions that permit prisoners to register and vote during elections.
