Court jails man found with 101 PVCs

Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, has secured the conviction of one Nasiru Idris for being in possession of 101 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

A magistrate court in Sokoto sentenced Mr Idris to one-year imprisonment, having found him guilty of contravening Sections 117 and 145 of the Electoral Act.

This is contained in a statement by INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye.

Mr Idris, who hails from Sabon Birnin LGA of Sokoto State, was arrested by the police on 10 October, following an intelligence report that he was in possession of multiple PVCs, said the commissioner of police, Hussein Gumel.

“The Police has concluded investigation 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 2002. He has been sentenced to a year in prison,” Mr Okoye said.

It added that the commission is also in court, pursuing the prosecution of another man arrested in Kano for the possession of 367 PVCs.

READ ALSO: 2023: Get your PVCs, CAN urges Christians

The police in Kano had previously confirmed the arrest of a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano state, Aminu Shana, for being in possession of 367 PVCs.

The commission, therefore, promised not to relent in pursuing and prosecuting violators.

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

Update on PVC Collection

Meanwhile, the electoral body said it would soon release the dates and detailed procedure for the collection of PVCs nationwide.

To make the collection seamless, INEC said it has developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the procedure.

“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 (RECs),” it said.

---

---

“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.”

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on 1-covered issues around the globe