INEC files 6-count charge against suspended Adamawa REC
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has filed a six-count charge against its suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Adamawa State, Hudu Yunusa-Ari.
The Police had arrested Yunusa-Ari over his actions during Adamawa State governorship election. He was granted administrative bail, then asked to report to the headquarters of the NPF every weekday.
INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, had in June said the commission will “soon” take action on the case.
“I am aware that the police have concluded investigations and I am aware that in the next few weeks, Nigerians will be informed of what will happen.
“Under the law, it is the responsibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission to prosecute him if a prima facie case has made out against him.”
The suspended REC had announced Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner of the dramatic governorship election in Adamawa while the collation of results was ongoing.
INEC however nullified Yunusa-Ari’s declaration, and suspended him, while former President, Muhammadu Buhari, ordered full investigation of the electoral commissioner and security personnel at the collation centre.
The commission later announced the incumbent governor, Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the authentic winner of the poll.
Defending his action, Yunusa-Ari said in letters he sent to the Inspector-General of Police, INEC chairman and Director-General of the Department of State Services, that he announced the results of 69 polling units in the April 15 supplementary election due to security pressure.
Ari also argued that he acted within the ambit of the law to avert looming danger of the delay in announcing the results, especially because the results brought by the presiding officers from the 69 polling units, which he did not sign, differed from those uploaded on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
Ari listed risks he faced to include attempts to replace him as the collation officer, threats by candidates to cause mayhem, appointment of ‘illegal collation officers’, and the surrounding of his residence by policemen from Government House Yola.
“It was based on these that I compiled all the polling unit results and declared the winner of the election based on the highest number of valid votes scored by the candidate of the APC.
“I had the breakdown of the valid votes scored by the two leading candidates in the supplementary election, using the results from the polling units as collated into all relevant forms EC8B, C, D and E respectively by properly and legally appointed and recognised collation officers and my humble self as the Adamawa State Chief Collation Officer and Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).
“Prior to the declaration, there was an intelligence report made available to me that the two national commissioners were at the Government House, Yola at 8:31pm on April 15, 2023 and held a meeting with Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.”
