2015 Elections: Court Upholds Prisoners Right To Vote

                     A Federal High Court sitting in Benin, Edo State has ruled that inmates of prisons in Nigeria have the right to vote in all elections conducted in the country.

The court, presided over by Justice Mohammed Lima, which gave the ruling in a suit instituted by by five inmates - Victor Emenuwe, Onome Inaye, Kabiru Abu, Osagie Iyekepolor, Modugu Odion (for and on behalf of inmates of Nigerian prisons), against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the controller-general of Nigeria Prisons Service, also directed the defendants to ensure that the applicants are not disenfranchised.

The plaintiffs had, in the suit, asked the court to determine “whether, having regards to the provisions of section 25 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended in 2011, and section 12 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010, the plaintiffs are not entitled to be registered as voters by INEC.”

They had also prayed the court to determine, whether having regard to the provisions of Section 77 (2) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 12 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010, the plaintiffs were not entitled to cast their votes at any election in the country.

They further asked the court to determine whether the failure of INEC to make registration and voting provisions for the inmates in the custody of Nigerian prisons does not constitute an infringement on their rights as citizens of Nigeria as enshrined in section 14 (1) (2) (a) (b), section 17 (2) (a), section 24 (b), (c), section 39 of the 1999 constitution and Article 13 (1) and Article 20 (1) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.

Justice Lima in his ruling held that, “Any act by the first Defendant to deny inmates the right to vote is unconstitutional, illegal, irregular, unlawful, null and void and of no effect whatsoever; that the Defendants do not have the constitutional right to deny the claimants their voting rights; that being an inmate is not an offence that impedes their registration and voting right under section 24 of the Electoral Act; and that‎ the exclusion of inmates in elections conducted in Nigeria is illegal, ultra vires and null and void.”

The judge further gave an order of mandatory injunction directing the first Defendant to update and include in the National register of voters names of citizens in the custody of second defendant and an order of mandatory injunction tasking INEC and the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Prisons Service to include the plaintiffs as well as make the environment comfortable for them to exercise their franchise.

Counsel to the Plaintiffs, Barrister Aigbokhan President, lauded the judgment adding that erosion of inmates’ rights to vote creates dangerously fragile environment for overall human rights in the reign of 365 days of human right being the theme of human right in 2014.

He asserted that, “The judgment is a wedge on the slippery slope of creating second class citizens in Nigeria.”