INEC files six counts against suspended Adawama REC

The Independent National Electoral Commission has filed a court complaint against Hudu Ari, the resident electoral commissioner for Adamawa state.

Due to Ari’s behavior during the governor of Adamawa election, the police got him detained. He later received a bail hearing.

Festus Okoye, the commission’s national commissioner and chairman of the information and voter education committee, said in a statement on Thursday that the commission had studied the case file that the police had forwarded to it and had filed a six-count charge against Ari.

The Adamawa State High Court will hear the case on July 12, 2023, he continued.

According to the statement, “INEC had its regularly scheduled weekly meeting today, July 6, 2023, and reviewed a variety of topics, including the prosecution of electoral violators.

Remember that the Commission confirmed receiving case files from the Nigerian Police after concluding its investigation into alleged electoral offenses during the 2023 General Election, including the one involving the Resident Electoral Commissioner assigned to Adamawa State, Hudu Ari? That was Tuesday, July 4, 2023, when the Commission met with the Resident Electoral Commissioners.

The Commission also promised the Nigerians that they would act right away.

A violation of the Electoral Act of 2022 must be tried in a Magistrate Court or a High Court of the State in which it was committed, or the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as stated in Section 145(1) of the Act.

Additionally, Section 145(2) of the Act stipulates that any attorney hired by the Commission to bring a case under the Act must be a legal officer of the Commission. The Commission has filed a six-count complaint against Ari at the Yola-based Adamawa State High Court after reviewing the case file from the Police, which created a preliminary case against him. As a result, the Court set the trial’s start date for Wednesday, July 12, 2023.

However, he said that the commission was collaborating with the Nigerian Bar Association to vigorously pursue other instances.