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SERAP Calls for the Apprehension of INEC Office Attackers

President Muhammadu Buhari has been requested by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, to apprehend those responsible for the attacks on the INEC offices.

Recently, gunmen and arsonists have assaulted INEC offices in various parts of the nation, destroying important items, paperwork, and structures.

Many Nigerians are concerned about the situation and question whether security threats can be resolved before the general elections in 2023.

Between February 2019 and May 2021, at least 41 attacks are said to have occurred in 14 states. More than 50 attacks on INEC offices have been documented recently in numerous states, according to recent reports.

SERAP had, in a statement on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said President Buhari wants to “urgently direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN and appropriate law enforcement agencies to identify and arrest the perpetrators and sponsors of attacks on the offices of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) across the country.”

The group specifically urged the President to “ensure that the perpetrators and their sponsors are named and shamed, and promptly brought to justice, regardless of their political affiliations.”

“These attacks are increasingly putting INEC under siege. If not urgently addressed, the escalating attacks on the offices of INEC would impair the people’s right to vote,” the statement read.

“The attacks would also undermine public trust and confidence in the electoral process. It is confidence in the process that is the true backbone of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy and the rule of law.”

“The right to vote will have little meaning if perpetrators and sponsors of attacks on INEC offices continue to get away with their crime against the Nigerian people.”

According to the group, Nigeria’s constitutional democracy cannot exist without an electoral commission that can function in a secure atmosphere.

SERAP warned the current administration that it would consider taking proper legal action to compel Buhari’s administration to comply in the public’s interest.

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