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Final Report: Catholic Church says 2023 election “worst in Nigeria’s history”
The Catholic Church has released its final report on the 2023 general elections, saying that the election is the worst in the history of Nigeria.
This was contained in the final report released by the Church and Society Department of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) signed by its Director and the executive secretary of Caritas Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Uchechukwu Obodoechina and presented to the public on Friday, July 28, in Abuja.
In its report, the church regretted that despite an improved electoral act, financial support from local and international partners, as well as heightened anticipation of citizens, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies failed woefully to deliver.
Speaking, Rev. Fr. Obodoechina said that there ought to be punishment for those who compromised and manipulated the results of the elections.
Obodoechina said that the position of the Catholic Church on the election was premised on the report of its Church and Society Department team, as well as the Caritas Nigeria, dispatched across the country to monitor the elections.
He further noted that the 2023 general election was marred with several irregularities including violence, intimidation, disenfranchisement, vote-buying, logistics challenges, et al.
He also regretted that Nigerians are disappointed in the outcome of the elections, feeling as they do that the results, as declared by INEC did not reflect the wishes of the majority of the electorates.
The executive secretary of Caritas Nigeria pointed out that ten political parties instituted 1, 341 cases, which constitutes about 90 per cent of the 1, 490 contested seats.
He also noted that 346 judges have been engaged in different tribunals, making the 2023 elections the most litigated, contentious, disputed elections in the history of Nigeria’s electoral democracy.
Obodoechina said: “[The election] witnessed violence, intimidation, disenfranchisement, vote-buying, logistics challenges that affected the credibility of the election including the perceived compromise from security agencies that aided the activities of hoodlums.
“Obviously, majority of Nigerians are disappointed with the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies despite the huge financial and logistics support it received.
“However, the 2023 general elections have come and gone, and had unfortunately left mixed feelings in the minds of most Nigerians. Most electorates are feeling disappointed in the outcome of the elections.
“This was because they did not feel the results, as declared by INEC, reflected the wishes of the majority of Nigerians.
“One of the greatest flaws of the 2023 elections was the inability, unwillingness, and outright refusal of INEC to upload results from Form EC8A to the IReV portal in real-time from the Polling Units as was severally promised before the conduct of the election.
“Presently, 10 political parties have instituted 1, 341 cases, representing about 90 per cent of the 1, 490 contested seats; and 346 judges have been engaged in different tribunals, making the 2023 elections the most litigated, contentious, disputed elections in the history of Nigeria’s electoral democracy.
“There are chances that the 1, 341 petitions may not be the last since some other cases have not come to the fore.”
Obodoechina lamented that despite the humongous sum dumped into the election, more than N3 billion is estimated to be spent by INEC in defending cases brought against it due to the outcome of the elections.
The legal team of suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, say they are ready with factil evidence to defend her in court.
The team received a formal summons in the case filed against her by the Federal Government at the Federal Capital Territory High Court last week.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, the Federal Government filed the suit, marked CR/297/25, over alleged defamatory remarks made during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025.
The government accused the senator of “making imputation knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person”, citing Section 391 of the Penal Code, cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.
Among the witnesses listed to testify during the trial were Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
Others include Asuquo Ekpenyong, a senator; Sandra Duru; Maya Iliya, investigating police officers; and Abdulhafiz Garba, investigating police officers.
However, in a statement issued Friday night by Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa (SAN) on behalf of the legal team, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers confirmed receipt of the formal summons and pledged to prepare all “factual and statutory defences” available to the lawmaker during trial.
“At about 2:30pm on Friday, May 23, 2025, within the premises of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, we received the information filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, containing three counts alleging that our client, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central, made imputations she had reason to believe would harm the reputation of Senator Godswill Akpabio, President of the 10th Senate,” the statement read.
“We received the said information on her behalf through a letter of authority duly issued and filed in the court’s registry.
“The legal team will fully prepare and present all factual and statutory defences available to our client during the trial.”
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will on Tuesday next week begin the take over of 4,794 properties in Abuja, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters, due to unpaid ground rent.
The PDP headquarters, currently under construction in Abuja’s Central Business District, is among the affected properties, having been revoked in March for several years of unpaid ground rent. The FCTA disclosed that 4,794 titles had been revoked for failure to pay ground rent, with some defaults dating back 43 years.
The affected properties are located in various districts, including Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape.
The defaulters owe over N6.96 billion in ground rent. The FCTA had given a 21-day grace period for owners with debts under 10 years, which has now expired.
The FCTA officials announced that the takeover would begin on Monday, May 26, 2025, with the sealing off and restriction of access to the affected properties.
The Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze emphasized that the revocations were carried out under Section 28(5)(a)(b) of the Land Use Act, which empowers the government to reclaim land when the terms of occupancy are violated.
Two people sustained serious injuries when a training aircraft crash-landed at the Ilorin International Airport on Friday.
Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Mrs Bimbo Oladeji, who disclosed this in a statement, said the incident occurred at 17:28 local time on May 23, 2025, during a simulated instrument approach on Runway 05 at Ilorin International Airport.
Oladeji said the aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop on the grass verge, leaving the two occupants on board injured.
She stated: “Both sustained serious injuries and were swiftly evacuated to a medical facility, coordinated by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA.
“In response, the NSIB Go-Team is currently preparing to depart from Abuja to Ilorin to conduct on-site investigations. The team will secure the site, collect physical evidence, interview witnesses, and retrieve operational data to establish the cause and contributing factors of the incident.”
Quoting the Director General of the NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., she said “Our thoughts are with the injured, and we commend the swift medical and emergency response. Now, our focus is on understanding exactly what went wrong. Every investigation is an opportunity to improve safety. We are deploying our team to Ilorin to ensure that no detail is overlooked.”
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