A legal practitioner, Prof. Ambrose Ekpu has stressed the need for strict enforcement of electoral laws to guarantee credible elections in Nigeria, warning that democracy is endangered when electoral violations go unpunished.
Prof. Ekpu made the submission in a paper titled “The Interplay Between Law Enforcement and Credible Elections” presented at a Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) event in Agbor.
According to him, democracy derives its legitimacy from the ability of citizens to freely choose their leaders through a transparent, fair, and credible electoral process.
“Democracy is about representational government. It is a system of government in which the people choose those who are to represent them and advance their interests,” he said.
The legal scholar noted that while Nigeria has enacted several electoral laws since the return to democratic rule in 1999, elections have continued to generate widespread complaints and lengthy litigation.
He observed that successive Electoral Acts were designed to address flaws identified in previous elections, with the Electoral Act, 2026, being the latest effort to improve the electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Despite these reforms, he said concerns over the credibility of elections persist.
“However, in spite of this large body of laws and rules and the good intentions behind them, every election in Nigeria since 1999 has ended up with more vociferous complaints and long drawn litigations,” he stated.
Prof. Ekpu recalled that former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua publicly acknowledged the shortcomings of the 2007 elections and subsequently established the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Panel to recommend changes to the system.
The professor identified several factors militating against credible elections in Nigeria, including poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, electoral violence, insecurity, corruption, weak electoral institutions, and poor enforcement of electoral laws.
According to him, poverty and unemployment have made many voters vulnerable to inducement, while insecurity in parts of the country has negatively affected voter turnout and election administration.
He also expressed concerns about some provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, particularly those relating to the transmission of election results.
While the Act provides for electronic transmission of results, he argued that the exception allowing reliance on manually completed forms where transmission fails undermines the objective of the reform.
“A close look at the provision of the Act will reveal that electronic transmission of results has really not been made mandatory,” he said, recommending that electronic transmission be made compulsory without exceptions.
The professor also criticised provisions granting discretionary powers to election officials in certain circumstances and questioned sections that shield some electoral officers from being joined in election petitions.
On electoral offences, Prof. Ekpu noted that the Electoral Act creates a wide range of offences, including voter intimidation, undue influence, multiple voting, and bribery, but lamented that enforcement remains weak.
“No matter how good or well intentioned a piece of legislation may be, if it is not enforced, the law remains a dead letter,” he said.
He observed that although numerous arrests are made during elections, many cases do not result in prosecution or conviction.
“There are many reported cases of arrests for election cases, but many of those cases end up being settled at the police station,” he stated.
While acknowledging successful prosecutions such as those involving former electoral officials Prof. Peter Ogban and Prof. Ignatius Uduk, he maintained that weak enforcement, slow trials, and political interference continue to encourage electoral impunity.
To strengthen Nigeria’s electoral system, Prof. Ekpu called for stricter enforcement of electoral laws, the establishment of an independent Electoral Offences Commission, faster prosecution of electoral offences, and further reforms to the Electoral Act.
“It is enforcement that gives teeth to the law,” he said.
Centre for Nigeria Progress 