by Kolapo Olapoju
A former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Prof. Tam David-West, says politicians who rig elections in Nigeria deserved to be given a death sentence.
According to David-West, rigging an election is worse than armed robbery, stressing that since an armed robber almost always gets a death sentence, any politician found guilty of manipulating votes wish at the poll should also be given a similar sentence.
The Professor is of the opinion that it would be hard for Nigeria to have free and fair elections if desperate politicians were allowed to rig and go unpunished.
While reacting to the outcome of the governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State, David-West made the statement in a telephone interview with Punch Newspapers,
He said, “I have said that election riggers should get death sentences. Rigging election is worse than armed robbery. If an armed robber can be sentenced to death, election riggers must face a similar punishment.
“That is the only way we could have peaceful, free and fair elections in this country. It (election) was a sham. From all I heard, in Buguma, Asari-Toru, there was no election as a result of sporadic shooting in the area. Surprisingly, INEC released a result.
“It is wrong for anyone to say that the conducted election is good. Is it that some people see the deaths as goodness? If an election is fraught with violence and other forms of malpractices, if it is not corrected, it would stain the performance of INEC.”
