The United States government has claimed that there is sufficient In its 2019 country reports on human rights practices, the US The report partly read;
“There was evidence military and security services intimidated “For example, widespread violence and military involvement in “Some RECs reported security service personnel visited them The 46-page report which further claimed that vote-buying were It further stated that the corruption in the judiciary backed with It added;
“Although the constitution and law provide for an independent “Understaffing, underfunding, inefficiency, and corruption “Although the Ministry of Justice implemented strict requirements
evidence to support allegation of operatives of the Nigerian army and
Department of State Services intimidating voters, electoral officials
and election observers during 2019 general election.
Department of State insisted that the 2019 election which did
not encourage enough voter participation was marred by violence and
other irregularities, particularly in the Southern part of the country.
voters, electoral officials, and election observers. In addition
violence in several states contributed to lower voter participation and
added to the sentiment the army is a tool of the ruling party in many
parts of the country, particularly in the South.
electoral processes, including during the vote collation process,
significantly scarred the governorship election in Rivers State.
Additionally several of INEC’s resident electoral commissioners (RECs)
reported DSS operatives intimidated them when the RECs attempted to
protect voting materials.
multiple times prior to the elections. Press reported certain RECs
claimed the DSS was surveilling the RECs and that they had been brought
to DSS offices for questioning.”
historically high during the 2018-19 electoral season especially in Kano
and Osun State, stated that the Nigerian judiciary is still susceptible
to intimidation by the executive and the legislative arms of
government.
the poor pay judicial officers get, has hindered the third arm of
government from functioning independently. The US Department of State
also averred that judges are easily bribed in Nigeria and litigants
cannot rely on the courts to render impartial judgments.
judiciary, the judicial branch remained susceptible to pressure from the
executive and legislative branches. Political leaders influenced the
judiciary, particularly at the state and local levels.
prevented the judiciary from functioning adequately. There are no
continuing education requirements for attorneys, and police officers
were often assigned to serve as prosecutors. Judges frequently failed to
appear for trials. In addition, the salaries of court officials were
low, and they often lacked proper equipment and training.
for education and length of service for judges at the federal and state
levels, no requirements or monitoring bodies existed for judges at the
local level. This contributed to corruption and the miscarriage of
justice in local courts.”
There’s evidence Army, DSS intimidated voters, electoral officials and election observers during 2019 election – US
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