The Inspector-General of Police (IG), Usman Alkali, has ordered an investigation and possible prosecution of the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari.

The development follows the receipt of an April 18 letter from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), detailing the alleged impropriety of Ari’s actions.

IG Alkali directed his investigative team to work with INEC in the investigation and persecution of Ari.

A statement yesterday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said: “The IG Usman Alkali, has directed an investigative team to work in collaboration with the INEC to expedite action on the contents of the letter.

“The IG, while expressing the commitment of the police to upholding democratic values, assures Nigerians and the international community that the police will leave no stone unturned in unraveling the remote causes of the unwholesome conduct of the REC, as well as ensure that all persons fingered in the course of investigations are brought to book.”

Lawyers have called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to apply punitive measures against Ari over alleged misconduct. The legal luminaries, under the auspices of Justice House International Organisation (JHIO), made the call in a petition addressed to NBA President Yakubu Maikyau in Abuja. Director of Advocacy, Toyo Jimmy, signed the petition dated April 20, 2023.

The group averred that apart from breaching the Constitution and the Electoral Act, Ari’s action in declaring one of the governorship candidates’ winner while results were yet to be fully collated had dented the NBA’s image. The group urged Maikyau to cause an investigation into the incident and also refer Ari to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for disciplinary proceedings.

The letter reads: “It is public knowledge that Yunusa Ari, the Adamawa State REC, with some security heads, declared one of the candidates in the just concluded Adamawa State supplementary governorship election governor-elect, in total disregard for the laws of Nigeria.

“This was done without the final collation of the results and without requisite legal authority, thereby usurping the power of the Returning Officer for the election”... (Text, excluding headline: The Nation)

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