Senate okays Abba Moro’s motion, approves voting right for prisoners

The Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District, Comrade Abba Moro, on Tuesday moved a Motion on the floor of the Senate on the need for inmates in correctional centers to vote.

Senator Moro, in the Motion titled, “THE PREROGATIVE OF CORRECTIONAL INMATES TO VOTE IN GENERAL ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA: STATUTORY, INALIENABLE AND NON-NEGOTIABLE’ urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in collaboration with the Nigeria Correctional Service, to locate voting centres at Custodial Centres across the country to be used for voting.

The Motion reads;

“The Senate;

“Notes that certain human rights are inalienable and come naturally with the birth of the individual. One of such rights is that of citizenship. Incarceration, though is one of the legal grounds of depriving a person or an offender in custody of certain rights, the right of citizenship cannot, at any point, be taken away;

“NOTES FURTHER that Citizenship as encapsulated under the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) comes with many defined rights and civic responsibilities, one of which is the right to vote in general elections;

“NOTES AGAIN that there are certain persons in correctional custody awaiting trial, undergoing trial or awaiting conviction for one offence or the other whose right to vote and citizenship remains sacrosanct;

“NOTES once more that being a correctional inmate is not an impediment to the Inmates’ registration and voting rights as enshrined under Section 24 of the Electoral Act, 2022, and denying correctional service inmates access to the electoral process constitutes an infringement of their rights as Citizens of Nigeria as provided under Section 25 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which confirms the definition of who a Citizen is as well as Section 12(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended), which spells out who qualifies to vote;

“CONSIDERS that the number of inmates in various correctional centers nationwide, which is put at over 68,000 and the statistics of those awaiting trial who, in the eyes of the law, are presumed innocent until found guilty, it is forthright and just that those awaiting trials and haven’t been convicted yet be allowed to exercise their franchise to vote.

“SENATE ACCORDINGLY RESOLVES TO;

“i. Urge the Independent National Electoral Commission and all relevant agencies, to carry out a voracious voter’s enlightenment in all prisons in Nigeria, to educate the inmates of their rights and necessity to exercise their franchise in general elections.

“ii. Urge the Independent National Electoral Commission and all relevant agencies to update its register of voters to take into account the prison population for the purpose of elections.

“iii. Urge the Independent National Electoral Commission in collaboration with the Nigeria Correctional Service to locate voting centres at Custodial Centres across the country to be used for voting.

“iv. Further urge the Independent National Electoral Commission to allow duly registered and eligible inmates awaiting trials to exercise their franchise during all general elections in Nigeria.

“I so submit, Mr. president.”

The Senate also urged the Commission (INEC) in collaboration with the Nigeria Correctional Service to locate Voting Centres at Custodial Centres across the country to be used for voting.