Bill To Jail Any Person Who Destroys Ballot Papers, Boxes For 20 Years Makes Second Reading

The bill that will sentence or convict a candidate, any person or agent who destroys a ballot Box or papers during election for a term of twenty years Imprisonment, has scaled through the second reading yesterday at Plenary.

The Bill entitled, ” An Act to Establish the National Electoral Offences Commission and for Other Related Matters, 2019″ is sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Abubakar Kyari, All Progressives Congress, APC, Borno North and Co-sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo- Agege, APC, Delta Central and the Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabiru Gaya, APC, Kano South.

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The Senate to come up with a National Electoral Offences Commission bill where no candidate or agent of his or any other person shall grab, loot, damage or destroy in any manner ballot boxes or ballot papers or any other electoral document or material, before, during and after an election, or take or attempt to take or cause to be taken ballot boxes or ballot papers or any other electoral document or material before, during and after an election without the permission of election official in charge of the election at a polling station.

There is a fine of at least N40, 000,000 for such an offence., just as the Bill is prohibiting hate speech and any who in the course of politics engage in any political fraud.

The Bill also states that “all National officers of any associations or political party, as the case may, that contravene the provision of Clauses 222, 225(1), (2), (3) and (4) and 227 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999( as amended) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on conviction to imprisonment for a term of at least five(5)years or to a fine of at least Ten Million Naira( N10,000,000), or both.”

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