Court grants prisoners right to vote

Federal High Court judge sitting in Benin has ruled that denying
inmates the right to vote was "unconstitutional, illegal, irregular
and unlawful".
The ruling followed a suit by five inmates – Victor Emenuwe, Onome
Inaye, Kabiru Abu, Osagie Iyekepolor and Modugu Odion – for themselves
and on behalf of inmates of prisons.
Defendants in the suit are the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) and the Controller-General of Nigeria Prisons
Service.
The plaintiffs had, among others, sought a determination on "whether
having regards to section 25 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended in
2011, and Section 12 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010," they were not
entitled to be registered as voters by the 1st defendant.
Justice Lima Mohammed ruled that inmates in Nigeria had the right to
vote in the country's elections, ordering the defendants to ensure
that the applicants were not disenfranchised. The judge ruled that
"the defendants do not have the constitutional right to deny the
claimants their voting rights;
"That being an inmate is not an offence that impedes their
registration and voting right under section 24 of the Electoral Act;
and
"That the exclusion of inmates in elections conducted in Nigeria is
illegal, ultra vires, null and void."
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Aigbokhan President, hailed the judgment
and stated that erosion of inmates' rights to vote creates dangerous
and fragile environment for human rights.
"The judgment is a wedge on the slippery slope of creating second
class citizens in Nigeria," he said.