A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and human rights activist, Femi Falana, has raised constitutional concerns over a proposed bill that seeks to make voting compulsory for eligible Nigerians.
The bill, sponsored by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, proposes a fine of ₦100,000 or a six-month jail term for citizens who fail to vote during elections.
According to Abbas, the aim is to curb low voter turnout, encourage civic responsibility, and shift voting from a personal decision to a legal obligation.
In a statement released Monday, Falana said the proposed legislation conflicts with several sections of the 1999 Constitution and undermines fundamental rights.
“I doubt that the speaker and his colleagues paid sufficient attention to the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution,” he said. “Otherwise, they would have realised that compulsory voting is constitutionally invalid in every material particular on the ground that it is inconsistent with sections 37, 38, 77(2), 135(5), and 178(5) of the constitution.”
Falana argued that these sections uphold Nigerians’ rights to privacy, freedom of conscience and thought, and the voluntary nature of voter registration and participation.
He referenced the Supreme Court ruling in Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal v Okonkwo (2001) 7 NWLR (Pt 711) 206, which upheld the right of a Jehovah’s Witness patient to refuse a blood transfusion on religious grounds.
“The Supreme Court set aside the conviction [of the treating doctor] on the ground that the doctor was right in respecting the fundamental right of the deceased to refuse blood transfusion based on her religious belief,” he said.
Quoting the late Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, who delivered the judgment, Falana added: “The right to privacy implies a right to protect one’s thought, conscience or religious belief and practice from coercive and unjustified intrusion… and a right not to be coerced into acting contrary to one’s religious belief.”
He also pointed to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the right of Muslim students to wear the hijab in schools, using it as further evidence of judicial protection for personal and religious freedoms.
Falana questioned the practicality of enforcing the proposed penalties. “It is practically impossible to prosecute millions of Nigerian voters who may decide to boycott national and local elections,” he said.
Rather than pursue the bill, Falana urged lawmakers to focus on comprehensive electoral reform. He called for amendments to the Electoral Act in line with recommendations from the Uwais Electoral Reform Panel, including the restructuring of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), introduction of proportional representation, resolution of election petitions before inaugurations, and establishment of an electoral offences commission.
The bill is currently advancing through the National Assembly but has drawn mixed reactions.
