Nigeria this week begins the trial of hundreds of people, including members of the country’s electoral commission, accused of crimes related to last year’s election.
On Monday, trials of 190 people, including electoral body officials and members of major political parties, began in courts across the country.
Lawyers from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria acted as prosecutors in the trial and lawyers from the Nigerian Bar Association provided the defence.
INEC said the trials would act as a deterrent in future elections.
Civil society groups welcomed the trials but hoped they would be more than just a show, said Godbryce Otulay, founder of the pro-democracy nonprofit Ready to Lead Africa.
“This suggests that [civil society organization] The community has been making demands on INEC to ensure that the sanctity and integrity of the electoral process is protected and progress is being made,” Otubure said. “Although a little slow, this is a welcome development. What we want to see is not just the announcement of a trial, but the securing of a conviction. We’ll continue to pay close attention to see what the final product is. “
The defendants face charges of vote-buying, theft and destruction of election materials, disorderly conduct at election sites, willful neglect of duty, possession of firearms and election-related violence.
In Nigeria, such irregularities are common before, during and after voting. Police said more than 20 people were killed in election-related violence during last year’s election.
Emmanuel Njoku of the nonprofit Connected Development said he hoped some of the main perpetrators would be brought to justice.
“The thing that will have the most impact is not just the trial of these faceless people, but the fact that some very popular faces are caught on live video threatening people not to come out and vote,” Njoku said. “If we could see these People are arrested, tried and convicted based on the evidence available, and that in itself will go a long way.”
Less than a quarter of Nigerian citizens have trust in the electoral process, according to an Afrobarometer survey conducted ahead of the vote. Analysts said irregularities during the polls made the situation worse.
O’Toure said a conviction could change negative public opinion.
“It’s a cause-and-effect relationship,” O’Toure said. “If people abandon the ballot box and disrupt the electoral process and they get away with it, then the public’s overall trust is reduced. If people engage in electoral crimes, they will be tried and imprisoned.” ”, you start to build public trust again. This will not resolve long-standing challenges of mistrust, but it will begin the rebuilding process. “
For now, civil society organizations and observers will be watching closely to see what happens.
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