On Monday May 27, 2025, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, withdrew the bill which sought to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to make voting compulsory for all eligible Nigerians after the controversial law had passed the second reading.
The bill had proposed sanctions against eligible Nigerians who refuse to vote. These included a N100,000 fine or six-month jail term for offenders.
Before the withdrawal of the bill, many Nigerians had criticised and questioned its constitutionality and practicality. Femi Falana, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, had pooh-poohed the proposed bill and described it as a violation of the citizens’ constitutional rights.
“I doubt that the speaker and his colleagues paid sufficient attention to the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
“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,” he said.
Falana backed up his stand with the Supreme Court’s decision in Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal v Okonkwo (2001) 7 NWLR (Pt 711) 206, where the court upheld the right of a patient to refuse blood transfusion based on religious beliefs.
In that case, a patient, Martha Okorie, and her husband belonged to a religious sect known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, who believe that blood transfusion is contrary to God’s injunction.
On account of the rejection of blood transfusion, the patient lost her life. Dr. Okonkwo, who treated the patient, was convicted… but the Supreme Court set aside the conviction on the ground that the doctor was right in respecting the fundamental right of the deceased to refuse blood transfusion on the basis of her religious belief.
Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, who delivered the judgment, stated: “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.”
In addition, Falana cited the Supreme Court’s ruling affirming the rights of Muslim students to wear the hijab in schools, further underscoring the judiciary’s stance on protecting individual freedoms.
He thereafter urged the House of Representatives to withdraw the bill, warning of its impracticality and potential legal invalidity. “Apart from the possibility that compulsory voting may be declared illegal under the current political dispensation, it is practically impossible to prosecute millions of Nigerian voters who may decide to boycott national and local elections,” he said.
In response to the backlash, Abbas promptly withdrew the bill via a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi, citing the need for broader consultations.
He said: “The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, wishes to inform the public that, following extensive consultations with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, he has decided to withdraw the Bill which he co-sponsored with Hon. Daniel Asama Ago.
“From the outset, the bill was introduced with the best of intentions, which is to bolster civic engagement and strengthen our democracy by encouraging higher voter turnout. Compulsory voting has long been practised with notable success in countries such as Australia, Belgium and Brazil, where it has helped sustain participation rates above 90 percent, while nations like Argentina and Singapore have also implemented similar measures to foster inclusivity at the ballot box.
“This withdrawal will allow time for further dialogue on how best to cultivate a culture of voluntary participation that honours both our democratic ideals and the rights of our citizens.”
We note the fact that Abbas and his co-travelers listened to voices of reason and timely halted discussions on and withdrew the bill that had sought to criminalize non-voting at national elections.
The legislators should now turn their attention to urgent matters of national importance, especially escalating insecurity across the nation.
In addition, they should focus on other issues such as the pervasive hunger and deprivation that directly affect the wellbeing and welfare of the people.
“The legislators should now turn their attention to urgent matters of national importance, especially escalating insecurity across the nation.”