Safeguarding Nigeria’s Democratic Process: Issues And Prospects

Mohammed Bello Adoke

A closer examination of our polity will reveal that Nigeria stands at democracy’s precarious crossroads. It’s been 27 years since the 1999 Constitution heralded civilian rule and vested sovereignty in the people, yet trust in the electoral process continues to erode perilously. The 2023 general elections claimed 89 lives amid violence, recorded a dismal 27% voter turnout, the lowest since 1999 and left INEC, the electoral management body’s credibility shattered, as reported in the 2023 EU Election Observation Mission’s Final Report. Vote-buying infected 40% of voters according to Yiaga Africa’s Nigeria Election Parallel Vote Tabulation and Incident Report 2023, while Presidential Election Petition Tribunals delayed 12 months beyond the 180-day constitutional limit under section 285(6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, according to INEC, 2023 General Elections Tribunal Report (2024), constituting grave constitutional infractions.

Democracy in Nigeria has endured since 1999. That, in itself, is no small achievement. But let us be honest: endurance is not the same as excellence, and continuity is not the same as credibility. A democracy is not measured merely by how often it holds elections, but by how deeply its people trust the outcomes of those elections. Thus, the real question before us this morning is not whether Nigeria is democratic. It is far more searching: Are we safeguarding the democratic process, or merely managing its appearance? Because when the process loses credibility, democracy does not collapse overnight; it erodes. Slowly. Quietly. Almost imperceptibly. Until one day, participation becomes routine, but belief has already left the room.

A post-mortem of Nigeria’s democratic process, especially the unfortunate occurrences witnessed in the polity, has understandably occasioned anxiety amongst the populace, forcing Nigerians to question whether indeed the 2027 elections will renew our democratic experiment or destroy it irreparably. Nigerians do not yearn for democracy for its own sake, nor do they want to be passive onlookers in the democratic process. They want a democratic process that guarantees their participation—one where elections are free, fair and credible.

Nigeria’s democracy is bedevilled by a myriad of challenges that have, over time, militated against its effective performance. They include:

(i) Betrayed Legal Framework-The Electoral Act 2022 promised a renaissance with innovative provisions aimed at guaranteeing free and fair elections, such as the provisions of section 52(1), which dealt with biometric accreditation, section 64(5), which provided for IReV real-time upload, and section 135, which mandated the serialisation of result forms. Yet, implementation faltered spectacularly due to INEC’s failure to upload the 2023 presidential results from 148,000 polling units within 24 hours, as acknowledged in its 2023 General Elections Report, constituting a breach of section 60(4). The provisions of Section 78 of the 2022 Electoral Act on agent accreditation were by-passed by proxy voting, while Section 97, which prohibited vote-buying, proved ineffective due to poor enforcement.

(ii) Electoral Violence- Since 1999, Nigeria’s electoral process has been marked by cyclical malfeasance, defying institutional maturation. The First Republic’s 1964/65 crises, massive rigging, ‘operation wetie’ violence foreshadowed military interventions in the body politics of the country, but the Fourth Republic polls reveal persistent pathology. The 2003’s infamous “ghost polling” and result fabrication, where INEC under Professor Maurice Iwu certified Muhammadu Buhari’s 2.7 million votes as 18,000, triggering Buhari v INEC 1 NWLR (Pt 1129)1 ‘s seminal pronouncement on collation integrity. The 2007’s “do-or-die” infamy saw ballot-snatching across 22 states, with EU observers decrying a “fundamental lack of transparency.” CLEEN Foundation’s Electoral Violence Tracker 1999–2023 logged 1,227 fatalities, with non-state actors (cult groups, political thugs) responsible for 62% of the fatalities. Electoral violence continues to undermine democratic participation. Incidents recorded during the 2019 and 2023 elections include: voter intimidation; ballot snatching and attacks on electoral officials.

(iii) Monetisation of Politics – The ridiculously high cost of obtaining Expression of Interest & Nomination forms has excluded otherwise willing participants in the political process. On average, the Expression of Interest & Nominations Forms announced by political parties for the 2027 General Elections l range from N5 to N100 million, depending on the office for which one is seeking nomination.  This problem is further exacerbated by the phenomenon of ‘vote buying’, which regrettably has become an institutionalised practice in Nigeria. Although section 97 of the Electoral Act, 2022 outlawed or criminalised vote-buying, it proved to be a toothless provision against inducements of N1,000–N10,000 documented across Lagos, Kano, and Rivers states, according to Yiaga Africa’s Nigeria Election Parallel Vote Tabulation and Incident Report 2023. You will agree that the net effect of persistent vote buying is that it transforms elections into economic transactions rather than democratic choices.

(iv) Internal Party Democracy- This is one of the greatest challenges in the democratic process, as almost all political parties were guilty of undermining internal party democracy despite Section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022, which mandated democratic primaries. Experience has shown that in practice, candidates were imposed, and party rules were circumvented. In PDP v Sylva (2012) LLJR-SC, the Supreme Court emphasised the importance of compliance with party procedures, but this has not made much difference to the political class. Today, almost all existing political parties are guilty of failing to promote internal democracy. The Judiciary has become a battlefield for parties unwilling to adhere to their internal processes designed to promote harmony, peace, and tranquillity, thereby contributing to the rancour being witnessed in the political space.

(v) Electoral Maladministration- The point has been made that INEC’s manual collation flaws persisted as a malignant cancer despite the Electoral Act 2022’s unequivocal electronic mandates under section 64(5), which required real-time result uploads via the IReV platform. Recall the case of Buhari v INEC 1 NWLR (Pt 1129) 1, where Onnoghen JSC at 45 denounced the “deliberate subversion of collation integrity.” The 2023 presidential election epitomised this recidivism because, despite BVAS achieving 95% biometric accreditation, only 28% of polling unit results appeared on IReV within 24 hours, constituting a prima facie breach of sections 60(4) and 64(6), as reported in INEC’s 2023 General Elections Report (2024). Although, the introduction of BVAS has improved voter authentication, disputes arose in 2023 regarding electronic transmission. In Oyetola v INEC,(2023) JELR 112598 (CA), the Court held that failure of electronic transmission is not fatal unless it affects the result. This exposes a gap between technological expectations and legal standards. Most disturbing is that electoral offences are rarely prosecuted. Sections 114–129 of the Electoral Act, 2026, provided penalties, yet enforcement has been almost negligible, thereby perpetuating impunity.

(vi) Judicialisation of Politics-The increasing reliance on the courts to determine electoral outcomes is concerning. Recently, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, expressed significant concerns about the judiciary’s heavy involvement in Nigeria’s electoral disputes, arguing that “the ballot paper, rather than the court, should determine winners”. He advocated reforms to limit judicial intervention and to ensure that electoral disputes are resolved before officials take office. I couldn’t agree more with him. Nigeria’s electoral circles are preceded and followed by a litany of cases to determine whether a candidate was duly nominated or has been duly elected. Consequently, the electorate’s participation in determining their choices for the relevant political offices is gradually eroding. The phrase “go to court” has become a silent reminder to the electorate that judges and courts determine who is actually nominated and/or elected. In the 2023 Electoral Circle, the cases Atiku Abubakar v INEC (2023) and Peter Obi v INEC (2023) exemplify this malaise. I respectfully submit that while judicial review is essential, excessive reliance on the courts to determine election outcomes risks undermining electoral legitimacy.

Safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic process requires a tripartite pact: strong institutions, accountable leadership and an engaged citizenry. If these three pillars hold, Nigeria will not merely conduct elections, it will emerge as a democracy that delivers peace, equity and development for all. The task is demanding, but the future of over 200 million Nigerians depends on getting it right. The call to action is for Nigerians to resolve, individually and collectively, to safeguard our democratic process. Democracy is not preserved by constitutions alone, nor by INEC, nor by the courts. It is preserved by a people who refuse to let it die. Nigerians must be vigilant and avoid complacency; prioritise Institutions over Personalities because Parties and politicians will come and go. But if INEC is weak, if the judiciary is compromised, if the legislature is silent, then democracy is rendered bare. We must resolve to strengthen the democratic process irrespective of the country’s leadership.  Our constitution has declared under Section 14(2)(a) that “sovereignty belongs to the people,” clearly signalling that the people are the ultimate custodians of democracy. So, I leave you with this charge: Democracy is not an event that happens every four years. It is a life we must choose daily to the full. If we sleep, thieves enter and take it away. But if we stand as watchmen, Nigeria will not only have elections; Nigeria will have a future. The ballot is in our hands. The responsibility is on our shoulders. The time to safeguard it is now. History’s verdict awaits. Will we rise and be counted as a professional body? Let it be said that “When democracy trembled, the Bar stood unbowed.”

•Adoke, SAN, was Nigeria’s attorney-general and minister of justice from 2010 to 2015. This is an abridged version of the keynote address delivered at the Annual Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja Branch, 20 May 2026