The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Yakubu Mahmood has said that inmates of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) will be given to opportunity to vote during elections in Nigeria.
Mahmood made the disclosure while playing host to the Comptroller General of the NCoS, Sylvester Nwakuche at the commission headquarters in Abuja.
During the visit, Mahmood affirmed the Appeal Court judgement which granted the inmates the right to register and vote in any elections.
According to him, the commission has engaged in several meetings with NCoS to spell out the modalities needed to accommodate the inmates during the elections.
He said some of these include access to voting facilities, political parties’ concerns and the category of inmates the Appeal Court judgement will favour.
He also called for the intervention of the lawmakers of the National Assembly on the matter while stating that INEC is committed to following the law as it applies to this matter.
In his response, Nwakuche said the judgement of the court upholds the right of inmates especially those who are awaiting trial.