Human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju has proposed capital punishment for any politician found guilty of rigging or manipulating an electoral process in Nigeria.

Adeyanju, a lawyer and Convener of a civil society organisation, Concerned Nigerians, said any politician that steals the mandate of the people consequently steals humanity and should be jailed for life.

The lawyer revealed this on Tuesday, against the backdrop of the alleged irregularities that marred the recent elections in the country.

Adeyanju said, “Rigging is a crime against humanity, basically if you look at it, in the sense that anyone that steals a mandate that should naturally be given to the people.

“Anyone that steals a mandate steals the means of livelihood of people, whether is it good roads, good schools, good hospitals, good educational system, good economy because the nation begins with the electoral system and once you steal that process, once that process has been flawed, rigged or manipulated, it means that you have successfully stolen the humanity.”

He stated further, “You know you’ve stolen people’s existence and therefore it should carry capital punishment. And this is why I’m personally advocating for a life sentence for anyone that practices electoral malpractices in the country.”

When asked if the proposition would work because of the politicians that have constitutional immunity, Adeyanju said, “There are only four categories of people that have immunity in the country – the President, the vice president, the governor, and the deputy governor.

“And whether anybody likes it or not, they are not immune from the crimes they have committed. They are only immune from civil prosecutions. Even when the governor is in government, immediately after his tenure, he can be prosecuted.”