Osogbo — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged media practitioners in Osun State to prioritise investigation of vote buying ahead of the August 15 governorship election, calling for detailed reporting that can support prosecution.
The charge was delivered by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, at a media stakeholders’ forum in Osogbo. The address was presented by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, Oluwatoyin Babalola.
Haruna described vote buying as a key issue observed during the June 20 Ekiti governorship election, where political actors were reported to have offered cash and used voucher systems to influence voters.
“Vote buying remains the most alarming development, and media practitioners must document incidents with the specificity required for prosecution,” he said.
He cited Section 22 of the Electoral Act 2026, which prescribes a fine of not less than ₦5 million, imprisonment of up to two years, or both, and a 10-year disqualification from holding public office for offenders.
The commission called on editors to assign dedicated resources to track incidents and urged reporters to capture details including names, locations, amounts and methods used.
Haruna said such reports would support enforcement efforts involving INEC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services.
On preparations for the Osun election, INEC said it had cleared candidates from 14 political parties and registered 381,817 new voters during the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
The commission said it would deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) across all 30 local government areas.
Haruna referenced the use of the technologies in Ekiti, where BVAS recorded a 96 percent functionality rate and IReV achieved a 98 percent result upload rate.
He also noted low voter turnout, stating that fewer than four in 10 registered voters were accredited in the Ekiti poll.
He urged media organisations to support voter mobilisation and public awareness on vote buying and result verification.
