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Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to guarantee citizens, journalists and other stakeholders the right to publish and analyse authentic electoral records ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Agbakoba, a Senior Life Bencher of the Body of Benchers, made the call in an open letter dated October 12, 2026, addressed to INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, in which he argued that the commission’s exclusive authority to formally declare election results should not be interpreted as a prohibition against publishing results already announced at polling units or contained in authentic electoral documents.
He maintained that access to verifiable electoral information would strengthen transparency, improve public confidence in the electoral process and help prevent disputes arising from discrepancies between polling-unit records and subsequently declared results.
The intervention comes amid concerns about the transparency of election result management, particularly the recording, transmission, collation and declaration of votes, as preparations for the 2027 general elections continue.
Agbakoba urged INEC to distinguish between its statutory responsibility for formally declaring election results and the right of citizens and the media to communicate information already made available to the public.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the statutory authority to declare election results belongs to INEC, as the designated electoral authority in accordance with the law. That responsibility cannot be shared with citizens, political parties or the media,” he stated.
He, however, argued that this authority should not prevent citizens and journalists from reporting results announced at polling units or publishing information contained in authentic INEC result sheets, provided the information is accurate and does not misrepresent the official records.
According to him, a citizen who reports figures from an authentic polling-unit result sheet does not thereby assume the commission’s statutory responsibility or usurp its authority to declare the final result.
Rather, he said, such reporting constitutes a legitimate form of public scrutiny of the electoral process.
Constitutional rights and electoral transparency
Agbakoba anchored his argument on Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which guarantees freedom of expression, including the right to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.
He argued that the constitutional guarantee should inform the interpretation and implementation of electoral laws, particularly where citizens seek to communicate information lawfully obtained from official electoral records.
He also referred to provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, arguing that the distinction between the formal declaration of election results by authorised electoral officers and the publication of information already in the public domain should be maintained.
The former NBA president further cited Section 124(4) of the Electoral Act 2026 in discussing safeguards against the dissemination of false electoral information, maintaining that such safeguards should not be used to discourage accurate, evidence-based reporting.
He urged INEC to provide clear guidance to citizens, political parties, journalists and election observers on the lawful publication and analysis of electoral information.
IReV portal should support public scrutiny
A major part of Agbakoba’s argument concerned the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), through which polling-unit result sheets are made available for public viewing.
He maintained that the portal’s transparency objective would be undermined if citizens could access uploaded result sheets but were discouraged or prohibited from discussing, analysing or reporting the figures contained in them.
“In my view, the public availability of polling-unit result sheets through IReV would be of limited value if citizens could view the records but were discouraged or prohibited from discussing, analysing or reporting or projecting what those records show,” he said.
He added that public access to electoral records should be meaningful rather than merely nominal.
According to him, citizens, journalists, political parties and observers should be able to examine uploaded result sheets, compare figures across publicly available records and identify discrepancies where they occur.
Such scrutiny, he argued, would provide an independent means of assessing the integrity of the electoral process without transferring INEC’s formal result-declaration powers to private individuals or organisations.
Agbakoba therefore urged the commission to strengthen the timely publication of verified polling-unit results on IReV and establish transparent procedures for identifying, reporting and resolving discrepancies between polling-unit records, uploaded documents and collated results.
Cites 1984 court judgment
To support his position, Agbakoba cited a 1984 judgment of the Lagos State High Court in *Nigeria Union of Journalists and Two Others v. Inspector-General of Police and Three Others*, Suit No. M/191/83.
According to him, the case arose from a challenge by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) to a directive warning media organisations against publishing election results that had not been officially released by the then Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO).
Agbakoba said the court ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, recognising the distinction between the authority to formally declare election results and the right to communicate preliminary results lawfully announced at counting centres.
He argued that the decision supported the position that the formal declaration of final results by an authorised electoral body does not automatically extinguish the right to publish electoral information already made public.
In a passage reproduced in his letter, the court stated that a journalist who obtained information about results declared at a counting station had the liberty to impart that information.
The judgment, as quoted by Agbakoba, also stated that the electoral law did not prohibit the announcement of preliminary results at counting stations by returning officers.
He maintained that the reasoning remained relevant to the debate over citizens’ and the media’s right to publish authentic polling-unit results ahead of the 2027 elections.
Agbakoba further asserted that, to his knowledge, the judgment had not been appealed and remained binding. That assertion was presented in his letter.
Calls for timely publication of results
The legal practitioner also urged INEC to strengthen its technological and administrative capacity to make verified electoral information available promptly.
He noted that political parties and other stakeholders increasingly use technological tools, including artificial intelligence-assisted systems, to collect, analyse and collate election information.
Against this background, he called on INEC to establish clear and ambitious benchmarks for publishing verified polling-unit records and communicating the progress of collation without unnecessary delay.
He proposed that the commission publicly explain the steps required to make information available within two hours of the close of polls or completion of counting at the relevant stage, where feasible.
According to him, timely access to authentic records would enable independent verification, help identify discrepancies early and reduce uncertainty surrounding the emergence of electoral outcomes.
He stressed that transparency should not be regarded as a threat to the commission’s authority but as a means of strengthening its credibility.
“An electoral commission whose records are open to independent assessment is better positioned to demonstrate that its decisions are supported by verifiable evidence,” he stated.
References June 12, 1993 election
Agbakoba also invoked the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which he described as one of the most credible elections in Nigeria’s history.
He argued that public visibility of electoral information and the ability of citizens to follow the emergence of results were important to electoral legitimacy.
According to him, allowing citizens to compare polling-unit records with collated results would help minimise suspicions that declared outcomes differed from the figures recorded at the grassroots.
He maintained that a transparent process would make it easier for the public to assess the credibility of declared results and could reduce avoidable electoral disputes.
Agbakoba further argued that effective public scrutiny could help prevent controversies that might otherwise lead to prolonged litigation.
Urges INEC to clarify its position
The former NBA president urged Amupitan to consider measures that would guarantee meaningful public access to polling-unit result sheets and other electoral records ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He called for clearer guidelines distinguishing the publication and analysis of electoral information from the formal declaration of results, alongside measures to ensure the timely availability of verified records through IReV.
He also urged INEC to establish transparent procedures for addressing discrepancies between original polling-unit result sheets, uploaded records and figures emerging from the collation process.
Agbakoba said these measures would help citizens independently assess electoral outcomes, strengthen confidence in INEC’s work and reduce disputes that could otherwise require judicial intervention.
He expressed the hope that the commission would give the recommendations serious consideration as preparations for the 2027 general elections progress.
He maintained that ensuring public access to electoral information would reinforce, rather than diminish, INEC’s authority by allowing the commission to demonstrate that its decisions were supported by verifiable records.
The letter was signed by Agbakoba on behalf of Olisa Agbakoba Legal.
