Renowned human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has described ongoing amendments to Nigeria’s Electoral Act as a complete waste of time unless existing laws are strictly enforced.
Speaking on Arise Television, Falana stressed that Nigeria’s democratic crisis is not caused by lack of laws, but by the refusal of the political class to enforce them. He argued that electoral offenses like vote-buying, thuggery and illegal defections already attract stiff penalties, yet offenders walk free.
Falana warned that the growing culture of reckless impunity—where politicians abandon the parties that elected them without consequences—poses a serious threat to democracy. According to him, ideology and quality representation no longer matter; personal political gain now drives decision-making.
He recalled that since 2008, experts have recommended the creation of an Electoral Offences Commission to prosecute offenders, but successive governments have ignored it. Falana concluded that amending laws without enforcement only deepens public distrust in the electoral system.
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