2019: Bishop charges authorities to punish electoral offenders

Samuel Luka, Bauchi

The Catholic Bishop of Bauchi State, Reverend Dr Hilary Nanman Dachelem has urged authorities to prosecute electoral offenders and politicians who may violate the country’s electoral laws during and after the forthcoming general elections. The Bishop gave the charge on Saturday while delivering a paper themed, ‘Role of Religious Bodies in Violence Free Election’ at a public lecture organised by the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO) held at Multi Purpose Indoor Sports Hall Bauchi. The cleric opined that there is the need to look into the justice system to fashion out ways of prosecuting electoral offenders in Nigeria. Dachelem lamented the situation where politicians who were indicted for electoral violence in the past are still working freely till this day. He added that the situation tends to promote impunity among the political class that ‘developed the mindset that they can get away with violent acts’ during electioneering period. According to him, some causes of election violence in the country include Bishop Dachelem attributed election violence in the country to failure of the justice system, inadequate voter education, unemployment, hate speech, prejudices and inadequate security. On his part, a Lecturer at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi Professor Mansur Malumfashi pointed out that the existing culture of urban violence and gangsterism in Nigerian cities has promoted political thuggery and violence. To this end, the professor called on religious organizations to educate their followers on the menace. He added that, “this negative impact of money politics in Nigeria is one of the major causes for political thuggery as politicians spend a lot of money to secure political office, they employ the services of thugs to ensure the realization of their political ambition either by fair or foul means”. The Bauchi state coordinator of the National Council of Muslim Youth Organizations Dr Abubakar Sadiq Abdullahi had earlier explained that NACOMYO is an umbrella body of Muslim youth organization and has organized the event to sensitise youths in the state on the need to eschew violence of whatever form during and after the 2019 elections.