Court Asked to Order INEC to Permit Use of Temporary Voter’s Card

•Polls: PLAC urges electoral body to guard against network disruption, sabotage

Alex Enumah and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

A Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked to issue an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to permit registered voters without the Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) participate in the forthcoming general elections.

However, ahead of the February 25 presidential election in Nigeria, the Policy and Legislative Advocacy Centre (PLAC) has advised INEC to take measures against possible of disruptions in telecommunication services on election day.

The request that the court should direct INEC to permit registered voters without PVCs to vote made by two plaintiffs in a fresh suit was predicated on the grounds that haven been fully registered and all relevant information uploaded into the database of the electoral umpire, they cannot be prevented from exercising their civic responsibility.

The plaintiffs, Kofoworola Olusegun and Wilson Allwell in the suit filed on February 8, and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/180/2023, asked the court to determine, “Whether by the true construction and interpretation of section 10(2), 12(1) and 47 of the Electoral Act 2022; Section 77(2) and 132(5) of the 1999 constitution (as amended), and bearing in mind that the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machine introduced by the defendant only needs the thumbprint and/or facial recognition to accredit a voter.

“Whether a person whose name appears in the electronic format in the Defendant’s central database and manual, printed paper based record or hard copy format of the Register of Voters and has been assigned a Voter’s Identification Number (VIN), can be said to be entitled to be accredited to vote with his/her Temporary Voter’s Card, in the forthcoming General Election to be conducted by the Defendant.

“Whether by the true construction and interpretation of section 10(2), 12(1) and 47 of the Electoral Act 2022; Section 77(2) and 132(5) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) the plaintiffs, bearing in mind that the BVAS Machine introduced by the INEC only needs the thumbprint and/or facial recognition to accredit a person whose name appears in its central database and manual printed paper based record or hard copy format of the Register of Voters and has been assigned a VIN.

“Whether such a person can as a consequence of the defendant’s inabilities, actions and omission be disenfranchised of the right and entitlement to vote in the forthcoming 2023 general election.”

The plaintiff asked the court to grant the following reliefs should the questions be answered in their favour.

“A declaration that the plaintiff, having fulfilled all necessary legal requirements to register and having consequently been captured in its central database and manual, printed paper based record or hard copy format of INEC’s maintained register of voters, the plaintiff are entitled to vote using their Temporary Voter’s Card in the forthcoming 2023 General Election.

“An order compelling INEC to allow the plaintiff to vote using their temporary voter’s card, issued by the defendant, the plaintiff having been duly captured in the National Register of Voter’s database.

“Any other order, the court may deem fit for all other Nigerians who are like the plaintiffs and have not gotten their permanent voter’s card, as the court may deem fit.”

Lawyers to the plaintiffs Mr. Victor Opatola, in support of the originating summons had filed an affidavit of urgency praying the court to abridge time due to the nearness of the election which comes up on February 25 with the presidential election.

When the matter was called, the counsel to the plaintiffs, Opatola, moved a motion to abridge time in which INEC could file their counter affidavit to the originating summons. 

The court, however, refused the application and ordered that the originating summons filed by the plaintiffs be served on the defendant.

The matter was adjourned until February 20, for INEC to file its counter-affidavit and other necessary processes.

In their statement of fact, the plaintiffs claimed they were

citizens of Nigeria, who had been registered in the central database and been assigned Voters Identification Numbers (VIN).

“After the plaintiffs have fulfilled all legal requirements of registration, and their names contained in the central database, the defendant has neglected to issue them their voter’s card even after several attempts were made by the plaintiffs to get their PVCs.

“Consequently, the time frame given by INEC for the collection of Voter’s Card lapsed on February 5.

“The plaintiffs will be disenfranchised, due to no fault of theirs, and precluded from voting in the forthcoming general elections.

“That INEC has closed the collection of PVCs and stopped its distribution nationwide.”

Meanwhile, ahead of the presidential election, PLAC has advised INEC to take measures against possible of disruptions in telecommunication services on the election.

Against the background of the nationwide service outage experienced by one of the Mobile telecommunication network providers – MTN on Tuesday – the centre said the federal government should investigate the matter and ensure that it was not an act of sabotage.

Executive Director of PLAC, Mr. Clement Nwankwo who spoke to THISDAY in Abuja, yesterday, at the unveiling and dissemination PLAC’s Electoral Act Web and mobile App, said INEC should have multiple network connections and the capacity to switch over any of these mobile networks if there is service disruption.

“I think it is important for INEC to explore every other options for the transmission of election results. Certainly there are more than four network providers in the country. INEC as a policy should engage in multiple network providers so that in the event of failure of one network, the commission can switch to another,” he said.

Nwankwo said one cannot rule challenges in technology application, adding that what needed to be ascertained was the extent which such challenges will affect the conduct of the election. 

“We also have to find out whether there was sabotage and if this was a dress rehearsal for the next week scheduled presidential election. This is because we cannot rule out the fact that there would still people who will try to minimise the important use of the BVAS machine,” he said.

Nwankwo gave reasons for creating a web and mobile App for the Electoral Act 2022, saying it would enable Nigerians have easier access to the provisions of the electoral law.

According to Nwankwo, the App also includes all INEC’s regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the forthcoming general election.

“We believe that people should have access to information on the laws and guidelines governing the elections in the country. The App has been produced to make it easily accessible for people, especially those that are familiar with the technology,” he said.

In his goodwill message at the event, Programme Manager, Democracy and Rule of Law at the European Union, Laolu Okawumi expressed hope that the implementation of the Electoral Act (as amended 2022) would usher in the era of free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.

Also panel of discussants which included Principal Partner, Dikko and Associates, Mudu Ishaka Dikko, SAN, a University Don, Miakpiburo Emiaso and Executive Director, Emma Ezeazu Centre for Good Governance, MMA Odi all echoed the need to properly apply the provisions of the amended Electoral Act end rigging and manipulation of the electoral process.