Former Kaduna Central Senator, Mr Shehu Sani, has backed the plan to allow prison inmates to vote in Nigeria’s next general elections, calling it a positive step for democracy.
In a statement via his official X handle on Friday, Sani said the reform could translate into about 100,000 additional votes nationwide, adding that the internal hierarchy in prisons would shape voting patterns.
He spoke after the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Nigerian Correctional Service announced a partnership to secure voting rights for inmates, most of whom are on remand or awaiting trial.
INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said during a meeting with the Controller General of the NCoS, Mr Sylvester Nwakuche, in Abuja, that inmates in several African countries, including Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, already vote.
He cited landmark rulings from the Federal High Court in Benin (2014) and the Court of Appeal (2018) which upheld the rights of inmates awaiting trial to vote, stressing that voting is a voluntary right that must be asserted.
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