Human rights activist and political analyst, Deji Adeyanju, has stated that any politician found guilty of rigging or any electoral offences in the country should face capital punishment.
The Convener of a civil society organisation, Concerned Nigerians, said rigging or any other electoral offence is a crime against humanity and should be treated as taking someone’s life in a court of law.
In a chat with Vanguard on Tuesday, Adeyanju said any politician that steals the mandate of the people consequently steals humanity and should be sentenced to life imprisonment.
He said, “Rigging is a crime against humanity, basically if you look at it, in the sense that anyone that steals a mandate that should naturally be given to the people.
“Anyone that steals a mandate steals the means of livelihood of people, whether is it good roads, good schools, good hospitals, good educational system, good economy because the nation begins with the electoral system and once you steal that process, once that process has been flawed, rigged or manipulated, it means that you have successfully stolen the humanity.
“You know you’ve stolen people’s existence and therefore it should carry capital punishment. And this is why I’m personally advocating for a life sentence for anyone that practices electoral malpractices in the country.”
When asked if the proposition would work because of the politicians that have constitutional immunity, Adeyanju said, “There are only four categories of people that have immunity in the country – the President, the vice president, the governor, and the deputy governor.
“And whether anybody likes it or not, they are not immune from the crimes they have committed. They are only immune from civil prosecutions. Even when the governor is in government, immediately after his tenure, he can be prosecuted.”
