The promise by President Goodluck Jonathan to set up Special Courts for Electoral Offences is laudable, although I do not know the form the special courts will take. It is the appropriate structure of the proposed special courts I intend to explore here. No doubt, a lot of electoral offences get committed any time elections are held in Nigeria. Electoral offences are part of the sore features of the recurring decimal that is non-free, unfair, incredible and violence-ridden elections witnessed in our country.

The nation has become a lawless jungle where the basic laws of preservation are constantly being violated. Nigerians face dangers daily from many causes, both obvious and obscure. Death lurks behind every Nigerian, in Nigeria, like a Siamese twin that failed the surgeon’s knife. We stare at death in the face, breathe death and live death daily.

This is a summary of the final settlement in the case of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) v. USCIS), 306 F.3d 842 (9th Cir. 2002), 976 F.2d 1198 (9th Cir. 1992), 717 F.Supp. 1444, 709 F.Supp. 998 (W.D.Wash. 1989). This is a class action lawsuit challenging the INS's interpretation of "known to the Government" and "continuous unlawful residence" for those who entered the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa before January 1, 1982, and who applied for purposes of the legalization program.