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Senate Set To Propose Bill Against Electoral Violence

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APC, PDP Senators Disagree Over Electronic Transmission Of Election Results

The Nigerian Senate is set to propose a bill that will address electoral violence and post-election violence in the country.

The development came after Senator George Sekibo cited Orders 42 & 52 and moved a motion on public electoral violence during plenary on Tuesday.

The lawmakers which observed a minute silence condemned the loss of lives during and after the just concluded elections in Bayelsa and Kogi State.

The bill against electoral violence if signed will prescribe severe punishments for perpetrators of violence during any election in the country.

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, during plenary, charged security agencies to bring to justice the killers of the PDP woman leader in Kogi, Mrs Achejuh Abuh.

Lawan also called on politicians to promote the violence-free electoral process.

“This is a very important motion, no party is absolved from this and we should continue to enlighten our followers to see politics as a game of ideas, people should pay price for their actions,” Lawan said.

Senator Isah Jibrin while speaking on the topic said, “I want to believe there is an urgent Bill that will address election violence in Nigeria. The way forward is that there should be sanctions that will serve as a deterrent to election violence.”

Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, called on security operatives to apply the law against perpetrators of violence during the electoral process.

“We join them to condemn this electoral violence. People have been known to create violence and nothing has been done. What we should add is that the law enforcement agencies must be up to the task.”

“The husband of the woman that was killed in Kogi has identified those that committed the crime and they should be arrested. We will urge all legal instruments that can be used to be deployed to curb electoral violence”.

Senator Abdullahi Yahaya speaking on the same topic also noted that “irrespective of the party we belong to, our responsibility is to prevent and curb electoral violence. The security agencies should put good measures and punish the perpetrators of electoral violence.”

The lawmakers urged the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and INEC to carry out electoral violence advocacy campaigns in subsequent elections.

They also urged security agencies to apprehend perpetrators of the violence.