Francis Iwuchukwu 
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has been charged to urgently seek the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate allegations of electoral violence and other electoral offences including bribery against any state governors and their deputies during the just concluded general elections. The charge came from a Lagos-based rights group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), through a statement issued by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, who equally asked INEC boss to: “Promptly and effectively investigate reports of electoral violence and other electoral offences committed during the general election, and to identify suspected perpetrators and their sponsors, and ensure their effective prosecution, regardless of their political status or affiliations.”
In a letter dated March 25, the group posited: “By allegedly engaging in electoral violence and other electoral offences in so blatant a fashion, suspected perpetrators and their sponsors have clearly acted in violation of constitutional provisions, international standards and the Electoral Act. SERAP suggested that INEC should promptly collaborate with ICPC and other law enforcement agencies to identify any politicians and their sponsors suspected to be responsible for electoral violence and other electoral offences during the elections, adding: “We would be grateful if immediate steps are taken to implement the recommended measures within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel INEC to comply with our request in the public interest.”
