President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, has encouraged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to sanction electoral offenders and ensure that politicians and their supporters play by election rules.
The PCA opined that where INEC takes electoral crimes seriously and electoral criminals are thoroughly prosecuted, the electoral process would become better.
She urged politicians to explore alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and called for enhanced enlightenment for the electorate to make informed choices during elections.
“The electorate should come together, talk and agree to defend their votes. And they defend their votes by demanding politicians tell them (the electorate) what it is they are going to do for them. If politicians fail to do it, the voters have the right to vote them out… Let the people know that they have the power to remove people who do not keep to their promises.
“I think electoral education is very important… Traditional rulers and local leaders should also educate the electorate and appeal to the consciences of the politicians.
“They should be encouraged to look more to that internal mechanism of resolving differences than rushing to court,” she said.
The PCA spoke in her office in Abuja while hosting a delegation from the European Union (EU) Office in Nigeria.
