Ibrahim K. Bawa Esq. a) Provides for prosecution of electoral offences by INEC at Magistrate Court or the High Court of a State or of the FCT. b) The Police Act also empowers the Police to prosecute offenders. c) Section 174 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(as amended) empowers the Attorney General of the Federation to institute, undertake, take over and continue criminal proceedings against any person in any court of law in Nigeria other than a Court Marshal in respect of any offence created by an act of the National Assembly. The Electoral Act 2010(as amended) is an act of the National Assembly. d) The practical difficulty is the understanding by the judiciary as to whether prosecution by INEC under section 150 of the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended) requires the fiat of the Attorney General of the Federation. e) INEC had successfully prosecuted and obtained convictions for some electoral offences noticeably in Adamawa, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi and Zamfara states. f) A Magistrate Court in Cross River State believes that a letter written by INEC appointing a Counsel to prosecute electoral offence is not enough. The Court believes that there should be a fiat from the Attorney General of the Federation. 40 ELECTION SECURITY IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING Legal Constraints to Election Security in Nigeria 3.15 Conclusion It is my belief that the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended) has adequate provisions which guarantee security of elections in Nigeria. There are no legal constraints to election security. The provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended) are supplementary to the penal laws of Nigeria, including Criminal Code of Southern states of Nigeria and the Penal Code of Northern States of Nigeria. Even though, some convictions of electoral offenders had been secured, the number is a far cry from the large number that committed registration and election offences. Let me round up this presentation by isolating some of the key constraints which are not all legal but sociological as well. It is public knowledge that our legal system travels at a snail speed. It is indeed an ordeal to commence and conclude on time the prosecution of an electoral offender. Adjournments on flimsy, frivolous and sometimes even stupid grounds have become persistent features of our legal system. Both the bar and the bench are culpable in this respect. Prosecutors are often unserious with election cases that they see as not of priority in the hierarchy of criminal cases. Secondly, the money culture has eaten deep into all facets of our social life and the courts are not exempted. Corruption in the country has become cancerous. Since suspects in election offences cases are mere apron strings of very powerful principals, these masters will stop at nothing to get them off the hook uponbeing apprehended. Third, there is the huge cost of prosecuting election offenders. INEC's efforts to partner with the Nigerian Bar Association were unsuccessful for reasons of funding. ELECTION SECURITY IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING 41