Identical twins threaten to sue INEC over mass ‘disenfranchisement’

Some sets of identical twins and other multiple births in the country have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in stopping the mass discrimination against them by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s biometric system.

 

They alleged that currently about 1,000 sets of identical twins in the country have been denied their Permanent Voter Cards due to failure of the INEC’s biometric machines to distinguish their identities.

 

Joint Presidents of United Twins and Multiple Births for Transformation in Nigeria, Akpos Mamuzee-Dixon and Andos Mamuzee-Dixon, who are themselves twins, addressed journalists in Abuja on the problem on Thursday.

 

Other sets of twins, who said they were facing similar problems, attended the press conference.

 

Akpos and Andos are musicians and actors. According to them, while Akpos has got his PVC, Andos was not given because of the inability of INEC’s biometric machine to distinguish them.

 

In their letter dated November 25 and addressed to the INEC chairman, Prof. Atahiru Jeega, they threatened to institute a N1bn law suit against INEC “if within 14 days from the date of your receipt of this letter, you fail, refuse to carry out our modest demands.”

 

But they said all their attempts to get remedy, including the letter they wrote to Jega through their lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN),  had yielded no result.

 

Akpos said, “When we got to the point of our registration in Wuse Zone 7, Akpos presented his Temporary Voter Card, and they found his name on the list and they gave him his PVC. But when it was my turn, they said they could not find my name on the list despite providing my temporary card. They asked to search for my name in other centres. We did but we could not find my name.

“We were then asked to go to Karu. When we got to Karu a woman who was an INEC official told us that when they saw  the pictures of the two of us and they decided to keep one of the cards on the assumption that it was the same person who was being fraudulent by registering twice.”

 

They said each or both of many sets of twins in the country have been denied their PVCs and would be likely disenfranchised if urgent step was not taken.

 

“Is it now a crime to be twins? I have no apology for being a twin or being identical with my twin. President Goodluck Jonathan must intervene in this. The essence of biometric system is to distinguish persons. If INEC machine cannot distinguish us as different persons then, with due respect, INEC has failed.”

 

Akpos and Andos have threatened to sue INEC as the commission had failed to respond to their letter dated November 25, 2014.

 

They called on INEC to immediately provide Andos his PVC to enable him perform his fundamental and civil obligation as enshrined in Section 12(1) of the Electoral Act, 2011.

 

In the letter written on their behalf by Ozekhome’s law firm, the twins further demanded  N20m as compensation for the trauma, psychological depression‎ and feeling of societal rejection they have been made to pass through with the denial of Ando’s PVC.