Police arrest two individuals caught with 468 PVCs

Two people who were in possession of 468 Permanent Voter Cards were detained by the police.

Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee of the Independent National Electoral Commission, said this in a statement on Sunday.

The perpetrators, Nasiru Idris and another (name withheld), were apprehended in Sokoto State and Kano State, respectively, with 101 and 367 PVCs, respectively, according to the statement.

According to Okoye, their behaviour violated Sections 117 and 145 of the Electoral Act of 2022.

The statement further mentioned that the perpetrators were currently being punished as required.

The following was stated in the statement: "In the past few weeks, the Nigeria Police has detained a number of people who were discovered to be in several States of the Federation's illegal possession of voter registration cards.

“In one case, the Police have concluded investigations and handed over the case file to the Commission, resulting in the successful prosecution of one Nasiru Idris at a Magistrate Court in Sokoto who was found to be in possession of 101 PVCs in contravention of Sections 117 and 145 of the Electoral Act 2022. He has been sentenced to a year in prison.

“Similarly, the Police in Kano State have arrested a man who was found to be in possession of 367 PVCs. The suspect has been charged to court and the Commission is pursuing his prosecution.

“The Commission wishes to reiterate that it will continue to pursue all violators of the Electoral Act and ensure their diligent prosecution.”

The commissioner provided an update on the PVC collection and stated, "Following the expiration of the statutory period for the publication of the register of voters for claims and objections, the Commission is determined to make the collecting of PVCs as frictionless as feasible.

“A standard operating procedure has been developed. This will be among the issues to be discussed and finalised at a retreat holding in Lagos from 28th November to 2nd December 2022 involving all the Resident Electoral Commissioners.

“At the end of the retreat, the Commission will release the dates as well as the detailed procedure for the immediate collection of PVCs nationwide.

“The Commission appreciates the patience and understanding of Nigerians, especially those who registered as voters or applied for transfer/replacement of their cards from January to July 2022. In making the cards available for collection, the Commission is also working to ensure that the process is hitch-free.”

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