A Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure inmates are included on the National Voters’ Register.
Justice Samuel Oseji gave the order on Friday while delivering a judgment in an appeal brought to the court by four inmates at the Benin Prisons for themselves and on behalf of other inmates across the country.
He held that the court agreed with seven other prayers by the applicants which were earlier granted in the matter by Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court in Benin City in December 2014.
Among the issues brought for determination by the applicants when the case first commenced in 2014 was whether the plaintiffs are not entitled to be registered as voters by the first defendant which is INEC.
They based their argument on the provisions of section 25 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended in 2011, and section 12 sub-section 1 of the Electoral Act 2010.
Justice Oseji further ordered INEC to liaise with the Nigerian Prisons Service in order to update and include the names of inmates on the voters’ register.
He said that this was necessary to ensure that the inmates can exercise their rights to vote in the 2019 elections and subsequent ones, as enshrined in the Constitution.
The counsel to the applicants, President Aigbokhan welcomed the ruling of the court.
According to him, Nigeria has become the second country in the continent, after South Africa to allow inmates vote during elections.