Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, yesterday urged the House of Representatives to jettison a bill that would make voting compulsory for eligible voters, warning that the measure “cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny.”
The draft legislation, sponsored by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas (APC, Kaduna), threatens eligible voters who stay away from the polls with a fine of up to ₦100,000 or imprisonment for six months.
Introducing the bill last week, Hon. Abbas said the aim was to reverse declining voter turnout and “entrench civic responsibility.”
Falana made this disclosure in a statement he released on Monday, May 19.
“Compulsory voting is constitutionally invalid in every material particular. Sections 37, 38, 77(2), 135(5) and 178(5) of the 1999 Constitution guarantee privacy, freedom of thought and voluntary participation in elections.”
The human-rights lawyer referenced the Supreme Court decision in Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal v. Okonkwo (2001), where the court upheld a patient’s right to refuse a blood transfusion on religious grounds.
He also pointed to the apex court’s judgment permitting Muslim students to wear the hijab in public schools, arguing that both cases affirm citizens’ right to resist coercion.
Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, who delivered the Okonkwo judgment, held that “the right to privacy implies a right not to be coerced into acting contrary to one’s religious belief,” Mr. Falana recalled.
Beyond constitutional objections, Falana questioned how authorities would enforce compulsory voting saying: “It is practically impossible to prosecute millions of Nigerians who may decide to boycott elections,” calling the proposal “impractical as well as unlawful.”
Instead of compulsory voting, the senior advocate advised lawmakers to revive key recommendations of the Uwais Electoral Reform Panel, including: Unbundling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to improve efficiency, adopting proportional representation to better reflect voters’ preferences, concluding election petitions before inauguration of declared winners, and establishing an electoral offences commission to prosecute vote-rigging and violence.
“These reforms would address the credibility crisis in our electoral process far more effectively than criminalising voter apathy,” Falana added.
The mandatory-voting bill has passed first reading and will face committee scrutiny in the coming weeks. While supporters say the measure could bolster democratic participation ahead of the 2027 general elections, critics insist it infringes fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution.