Civil rights group drags INEC to court over PVC

A civil rights group, Society for Advancement and Protection of Public Rights (SAPPR), has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (NEC) before a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking order to compel the use of permanent and temporary voter cards for the 2015 general elections. The body urged the court to order INEC to allow the use of the temporary voter cards issued legally to Nigerians in 2011 along with the permanent voter cards in order not to disenfranchise over 20 million Nigerians who are yet to access the permanent cards. In the suit instituted by Eze Anumnu, the rights group pleaded that the use of both cards will enable all eligible Nigerians to vote in the election and make the election credible, free and fair to the entire Nigerian and international community. The suit with no: FHC/ ABJ/CS/06/15 filed by Eze Anumnu is seeking an order of court to compel INEC to allow anyone with a voter’s card either temporary or permanent to vote as long as they were issued by the electoral body. To do otherwise, the group argued, would amount to disenfranchising millions of Nigerians which the group argued could result into violence and breakdown of law and order. The group stated that there was no law that empowered INEC to insist on PVC as the only acceptable card for voting. On the contrary, the group said that by refusing to allow people with temporary voter cards to vote, INEC is violating sections 77(2) and 117(2) of the constitution. Specifically, the group is seeking a declaration that by virtue of sections 77(2) and 117(2) of the constitution, INEC has no power to deprive any Nigerian, who is eligible to vote the chance to vote on the grounds of non possession of v a PVC. It also asked the court to declare that any provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 or any INEC electoral guideline, which prescribes the use of a card reader ma- chine for screening voter’s card, which has the effect of preventing a registered voter from voting, is beyond the powers of INEC and therefore unconstitutional. The court is also called upon to hold that the “Continuous Voter’s Registration being carried out by INEC now less than 60 days to the 2015 elections is unconstitutional, illegal, ineffectual and unlawful for being in direct contravention of section 9(5) of the Electoral Act. “That by virtue of sections 9(5) and 10(4) of the Electoral Act, the current voter’s register to be used for the 2015 general elections is the register existing, at least 60 days to the commencement of the 2015 elections as notified by INEC pursuant to section 30(1) of the Electoral Act.” The group asked the court for a mandatory order directing INEC to permit every willing Nigerian, who has any voter’s card issued by INEC to vote at the 2015 general elections. It sought an order of mandatory injunction re- straining INEC from pre- venting every willing Nigerian who has any voter’s card to vote at the 2015 general elections. It further asked the court to stop the commission from using any card reader or other programmable machines, which might have the effect of denying registered voters the right to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to vote. A 38-paragraph affidavit deposed to by one Chijioke Kanu, a lawyer with the plaintiff, stated that the PVC was “a monumental failure characterised nationwide by insurmountable structural challenges that even INEC has conceded to be beyond its power to remedy.”