A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday reaffirmed that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice does not have the authority to initiate or prosecute criminal proceedings related to electoral offences.
The judgment, delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, was in response to a lawsuit filed by Oladipupo Adebutu, the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, along with nine others. Their case challenged what they described as an attempt to intimidate them through prosecution.
Adebutu and his co-plaintiffs, Ogunbona Hameed, Tiamiyu Waliu, Egunsola Owolabi, Sanni Adegoke, Dare Ogunleye, Dare Adeoye, Dayo Fashina, Wasiu Enilobo, and Malik Akawo, had been charged with vote buying by the AGF before the Ogun State High Court. However, they argued that the case was politically motivated, especially since Adebutu was contesting the outcome of the election.
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According to the plaintiffs, the AGF’s decision to pursue criminal charges ran parallel to an ongoing election tribunal review of the same allegations. They contended that this amounted to interference in an unsettled electoral dispute.
Justice Ekwo’s ruling was clear: prosecuting electoral offences falls strictly under the jurisdiction of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The judge cited Section 144 of the Electoral Act, which mandates that only INEC can act on tribunal recommendations regarding electoral offences.
“The alleged vote buying is pending at the governorship election tribunal and has not been determined before the defendant filed a criminal charge,” Ekwo stated. He emphasized that the AGF’s move was unlawful and in direct conflict with both the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act.
Ekwo revealed that allowing the AGF to prosecute electoral offences would undermine the roles of both the election tribunal and INEC. “By law, it is for the tribunal to make a recommendation to INEC with respect to the prosecution of any person for an offence disclosed in any election petition,” he said.
Citing Section 145 (2) of the Electoral Act, he further clarified that only INEC’s legal officers or appointed legal practitioners can undertake such prosecutions. “This is a very lucid provision, in my opinion,” he added.
