There’s Nothing Wrong with Nigeria’s Electoral Act, But Everything is Wrong with Our Judges and So-Called SANs.
-Abuja, May 13, 2025 – Nigeria’s Electoral Act is not the villain in the nation’s troubled democratic journey, but the judiciary, led by compromised judges and profit-driven Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), stands accused of undermining the will of the people, according to a scathing critique of the country’s electoral system.
The Electoral Act, fortified over the years with amendments to enhance transparency, remains a solid framework for conducting elections.
Innovations like the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic result transmission were introduced to curb fraud and ensure credibility. “The Act isn’t perfect, but it’s not the problem,” a legal analyst told this reporter, echoing sentiments that the law provides clear rules for voter registration, candidate eligibility, and dispute resolution.
Yet, Nigeria’s elections continue to falter, not due to legislative flaws but because of a judiciary riddled with corruption and bias.
Judges, meant to uphold justice, have repeatedly delivered rulings that defy evidence and public expectation. M
From pre-election disputes to post-election tribunals, controversial judgments have become alarmingly common, often favoring politically connected candidates over the voters’ mandate.
“Some judges lack the integrity to resist external pressures,” a Lagos-based lawyer said, requesting anonymity. “Their rulings erode trust in the entire system.”
The 2023 general elections highlighted this crisis. Results verified by BVAS were overturned on questionable grounds, and politicians who lost at the polls were declared winners through court decisions citing obscure technicalities.
These outcomes, analysts argue, reflect not a failure of the Electoral Act but a judiciary unwilling to enforce it impartially.
Equally culpable are Nigeria’s SANs, the elite of the legal profession. While the SAN title symbolizes excellence, many have been criticized for exploiting their expertise to manipulate electoral cases.
Charging exorbitant fees, some SANs employ delay tactics and legal loopholes to secure victories for clients, regardless of the case’s merits. “It’s a mercenary approach,” said a legal ethics professor in Abuja. “They’re profiting while democracy suffers.”
The fallout is a growing disillusionment among Nigerians, who see the judiciary as a tool for the powerful rather than a guardian of justice.
Public trust in the electoral process has plummeted, with many questioning whether their votes truly matter.
Calls for reform are mounting. Experts urge stricter oversight of judges, with consequences for misconduct and a merit-based appointment process to ensure independence.
For SANs, the Nigerian Bar Association and Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee are pressed to enforce ethical standards and sanction those who subvert justice. “We don’t need a new Electoral Act,” the Abuja professor emphasized. “We need a judiciary and legal profession that respect it.”
Until these reforms take hold, Nigeria’s democracy remains at risk, not because of its laws but because of those entrusted to uphold them. The Electoral Act stands firm, but the judges and SANs tasked with its enforcement continue to falter, leaving the nation’s democratic aspirations hanging in the balance.
*By Our Correspondent, Abuja*
