Less than one week to the end of campaigns for the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission has revealed that it is compiling the names of candidates and political parties engaged in verbal attacks during the campaigns.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Committee on Information and Voter Education, Mr Festus Okoye, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Thursday, described the situation as worrisome, noting that the National Peace Committee headed by former Head of State, Abdusalami Abubakar, and some civil society organisations were also monitoring the violations.
Okoye stressed that the use of abusive language by some political parties, candidates, officials and supporters during the campaigns was in contravention of Section 92 of the Electoral Act. He noted that the commission would not hesitate to prosecute those found guilty after investigation and arrest by the appropriate security agencies.
At the commencement of campaigns, INEC had referred political parties and candidates to the provisions of Section 92 of the Act.
Specifically, subsections 1 and 2 read, “A political campaign or slogan shall not be tainted with abusive language directly or indirectly likely to injure religious, ethnic, tribal or sectional feelings; (2) abusive, intemperate, slanderous or base language or insinuations or innuendoes designed or likely to provoke violent reaction or emotions shall not be employed or used in political campaigns.”
Okoye stated, “The commission is concerned and worried at the language being employed by some of the political parties, their candidates, officials and supporters in their campaigns.
Section 92 (of the Electoral Act) provides that abusive, intemperate, slanderous or base language or insinuation or innuendoes designed or likely to provoke violent reaction or emotions shall not be employed or used in political campaigns. The law prescribes penalties for violation, including fines and terms of imprisonment.
“The commission is tracking the violations; the National Peace Committee is tracking the violations; civil society groups and organisations are tracking the violations. The commission will continue to evaluate the situation and will take appropriate action in terms of prosecution upon investigation and arrest by the appropriate agencies and organs of government.”
Okoye said the commission and the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, had met several times with political parties and their leaders over the issue.
“We must on no account, either wittingly or unwittingly, allow personal attacks to degenerate and lead to a breakdown of law and order,” he added.
In December 2022, INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed that the commission had recorded 52 violations of the Electoral Act.
Speaking at an interactive meeting with media executives on December 3, 2022, Yakubu stated, “As of November 9, 2022, barely two months out of the five months’ campaign period, we had tracked 52 incidents involving the use of abusive, inciting languages, denial of access to public facilities, destruction of campaign materials and even physical attacks, resulting in some cases to fatalities.
“For us, this is not a good omen. And I say this on several occasions, including at the last emergency meeting we had with security agencies, that a peaceful campaign heralds a peaceful election.”