INEC orders probe into 2011 elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Friday set up a committee to thoroughly investigate the conduct of the 2011 general elections.

The Commission’s decision to embark on the exercise was sequel to the disturbing trend whereby 19 out of the elections conducted by INEC three years ago have been thrown out by the courts for non compliance with the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) among other reasons.

The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega‎, while inaugurating the committee in Abuja, explained that the purpose was to identify the staff behind the nullification to ensure they do not play key roles in the 2015 general elections.

The committee has Abdulrahamn Madaki, former Deputy Secretary in INEC, as Chairman.

It has seven-point terms of reference.

These terms of reference, according to a bulletin pasted at the premises of the Commission, include: to examine the circumstances that led to the nullification of the elections.

In addition, the committee, which was given four weeks to complete its assignment, was mandated to apportion blames where necessary in relation to the conduct of the elections; recommend disciplinary measures against any permanent or ad-hoc staff responsible for, or who contributed to the nullification; r‎ecommend sanctions to other organization(s) in respect of person(s) not being staff of the Commission; as well as recommend ways to avert such occurrences in future elections.

The INEC Chairman noted with regret that the assignment was coming a bit late as 2015 elections are fast approaching.

Jega nonetheless expressed the hope that the committee, made up of experienced lawyers, would be able to complete the assignment within the time frame.

The committee is coming up with barely four months to the 2015 general elections.