Nigeria’s House of Representatives has approved stricter election forgery penalties, including 10-year jail terms or ₦75m fines, under Electoral Act amendments

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved stiffer election forgery penalties, endorsing a 10-year jail term or a fine of ₦75 million for individuals found guilty of forging nomination papers, result forms, or wilfully defacing or destroying election-related documents.

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The decision followed the House’s consideration of amendments to the Electoral Act 2022, during which lawmakers agreed to raise the maximum fine from ₦50 million, describing the move as necessary to deter electoral malpractice.

The House also approved a ₦5 million fine for the improper use of a voter’s card, strengthening sanctions against offences that undermine the credibility of elections.

However, lawmakers rejected a proposal seeking to impose a two-year prison sentence on individuals who financially or materially induce delegates to influence the outcome of party primaries, congresses or conventions.

Members argued during deliberations that such a provision could be weaponised by political opponents to witch-hunt aspirants.

In another significant change, the House deleted an existing provision that mandated the cancellation of votes and the conduct of fresh elections in polling units where over-voting is established.

Instead, lawmakers approved a new framework under which excess votes arising from over-voting would be deducted from the scores of all candidates at the affected polling unit, while the presiding officer involved would face prosecution.

Addressing journalists after the plenary, Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun, said the Electoral Bill 2025 was initially conceived as legislation to repeal and replace the Electoral Act 2022.

Balogun said the approach was driven by a desire to consolidate recent electoral gains and address emerging challenges within Nigeria’s electoral system through wide-ranging reforms.

He explained that proposals such as early voting, inmate voting, replacing the Permanent Voter’s Card with technology-driven accreditation systems, and adjustments to electoral timelines were extensively debated but failed to attract sufficient consensus across both chambers of the National Assembly.

As a result, the House resolved to proceed by amending the existing law rather than repealing it entirely, a decision Balogun described as a reflection of democratic maturity rather than a setback.

He said the amendments were designed to strengthen implementation, close observed gaps and preserve the stability of the current legal framework while responding to practical realities.

Balogun assured Nigerians that the process was transparent and inclusive, involving consultations with the Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies, civil society groups, political parties and development partners.

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He said while some innovative proposals were deferred, they remain part of the broader national conversation on electoral reform and could be revisited as consensus evolves.