The bill, introduced by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, proposes a six-month jail term or a ₦100,000 fine for any eligible voter who fails to participate in elections.
Abbas said the goal is to curb voter apathy, strengthen civic responsibility, and make voting a legal duty rather than a personal choice.
But Falana believes the bill is deeply flawed. “I doubt that the speaker and his colleagues paid sufficient attention to the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution,” he said in a statement issued on Monday, May 19.
“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.”
