Section 114-121 Nigerian Electoral Act 2022
Section 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121 of the Nigerian Electoral Act 2022, among others, are under Part VII of the Act. Part VII is titled ELECTORAL OFFENCES.
Section 114 Nigeria Electoral Act 2022
Offences in relation to registration
A person who —
(a) without authority, destroys, mutilates, defaces or remove or makes any alteration in any notice or document required for the purpose of registration under this Act;
(b) presents his or herself to be or does any act whereby he or she is by whatever name or description howsoever, included in the register of voters for a constituency in which he or she is not entitled to be registered or causes his or herself to be registered in more than one registration or revision centre;
(c) publishes any statement or report which he or she knows to be false or does not believe to be true so as to prevent persons who are qualified to register from registering as voters;
(d) makes in any record, register or document which he or she is required to prepare, publish or keep for the purpose of registration, any entry or statement which he or she knows to be false or does not believe to be true;
(e) impedes or obstructs a registration officer or a revision officer in the performance of his or her duties;
(f) without proper authority, wears the identification of a registration officer or assistant registration officer or wears any other identification purporting to be the identification of a registration officer or assistant registration officer;
(g) forges a registration card; or
(h) carries out registration or revision of voters at a centre or place not designated by the Commission, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N 1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.
Section 115 Nigeria Electoral Act 2022
Offences in respect of nomination
(1) A person who
(a) forges any nomination paper or result form,
(b) willfully defaces or destroys any nomination paper or result form,
(c) delivers to an electoral officer any nomination paper or result form knowing it to be forged,
(d) signs a nomination paper or result form as a candidate in more than one constituency at the same election,
(e) forges any ballot paper or official mark on any ballot paper or any certificate of return or result form,
(f) willfully destroys any ballot paper or official mark on any ballot paper or any certificate of return or result form,
(g) without authority gives a ballot paper or result form to any person,
(h) willfully places in any ballot box any unauthorised paper or result form,
(i) willfully removes from a polling station any ballot paper or result form whether or not the ballot paper or result form was issued to him or her in that polling station;
(j) without authority destroys or in any other manner interferes with a ballot box
or its contents or any ballot paper or result form then in use or likely to be used for the purpose of an election,
(k) signs a nomination paper consenting to be a candidate at an election knowing that he or she is ineligible to be a candidate at that election, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum term of imprisonment for two years.
(2) A person who —
(a) without proper authority prints a ballot paper or what purports to be or is capable of being used as a ballot paper or result form at an election,
(b) being authorised by the Commission to print ballot papers or result form, prints more than the number or quantity the Commission authorised,
(c) without authority, is found in possession of a ballot paper or result form when he or she is not in the process of voting and at a time when the election for which the ballot paper or result form is intended, is not yet completed,
(d) manufactures, constructs, imports into Nigeria, has in his or her possession, supplies to any election official or uses for the purpose of an election, or causes to be manufactured, constructed or imported into Nigeria, supplies to any election official for use for the purpose of any election, any ballot box including any compartment, appliance, voting device or mechanism or by which a ballot paper or result form may or could be secretly placed or stored in, or having been deposited during polling may be secretly diverted, misplaced or manipulated, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of 1450,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not less than 10 years or both.
(3) An attempt to commit any offence under this section shall be punishable in the same manner as the offence itself.
Section 116 Nigeria Electoral Act 2022
Disorderly behavior at political meetings
Any person who, at a political meeting —
(a) acts or incites another to act in a disorderly manner for the purpose of preventing the transaction of the business for which the meeting was convened, or
(b) has in his possession an offensive weapon or missiles, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of 14500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.
Section 117 Nigeria Electoral Act 2022
Improper use of voters cards
Any person who —
(a) being entitled to a voters card, gives it to some other person for use at an election other than an officer appointed and acting in the course of his or her duty under this Act,
(b) not being an officer acting in the course of his or her duty under this Act, receives any voters card in the name of some other person or persons for use at an election uses it fraudulently,
(c) without lawful excuse has in his possession more than one voters card, or
(d) buys, sells, procures or deals, with a voters card otherwise than as provided
in this Act, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of 141,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.
Section 118 Nigeria Electoral Act 2022
Improper use of vehicles
(1) No person shall provide for the purpose of conveying any other person to a registration office or to a polling unit any government vehicle or boat, or any vehicle or boat belonging to a public corporation except in respect of a person who is ordinarily entitled to use such vehicle or boat and in emergency in respect of an
electoral officer.
(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of six months or both
Section 119 Nigeria Electoral Act 2022
Impersonation and voting when not qualified
(1) Any person who —
(a) applies to be included in any list of voters in the name of some other person, whether such name is that of a person living or dead or of a fictitious person,
(b) having once to his or her knowledge been improperly included in a list of voters under this Act as a voter entitled to vote at any election, applies, except as authorised by this Act, to be included in any other list of voters prepared for any constituency as a voter at an election,
(c) applies for a ballot paper in the name of some other person, whether such name is that of a person living or dead or of a fictitious person;
(d) having voted once at an election applies at the same election for another ballot paper,
(e) votes or attempts to vote at an election knowing that he or she is not qualified to vote at the election, or
(f) induces or procures any other person to vote at an election knowing that such
other person is not qualified to vote at the election, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of £3500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.
(2) Any person who commits the offence of impersonation or who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of that offence, is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.
Section 120 Nigeria Electoral Act 2022
Dereliction of duty
(1) Any officer appointed for the purposes of this Act, who without lawful excuse commits any act or omits to act in breach of his or her official duty commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N5 00,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.
(2) Any polling official who fails to report promptly at his or her polling unit on an election day without lawful excuse commits an offence of dereliction of duty and is liable on conviction to maximum fine of 14500,000 or imprisonment for a term of
12 months or both.
(3) Any polling agent, political party or party agent who conspires to make false declaration of result of an election commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of 14500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.
(4) Any person who announces or publishes an election result knowing same to be false or which is at variance with the signed certificate of return commits and offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of 36 months.
(5) Any returning officer or collation officer who delivers or causes to be delivered a false certificate of return knowing same to be false, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a maximum term of three years without an option of fine.
(6) Any person who delivers or causes to be delivered a false certificate of return knowing same to be false to any news media commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of three years.
Section 121 Nigeria Electoral Act 2022
Bribery and conspiracy
(1) Any person who does any of the following —
(a) directly or indirectly, by his or herself or by any other person on his or her behalf, corruptly makes any gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement to or for any person, in order to induce such person to procure or to endeavour to procure the return of any person as a member of a legislative house or to an elective office or the vote of any voter at any election;
(b) upon or in consequence of any gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement corruptly procures, or engages or promises or endeavours to procure, the return of any person as a member of a legislative house or to an elective office or the vote of any voter at any election;
(c) advances or pays or causes to be paid any money to or for the use of any other person, with the intent that such money or any part thereof shall be expended in bribery at any election, or who knowingly pays or causes to be paid any money to any person in discharge or repayment of any money wholly or in part expended in bribery at any election;
(d) after any election directly, or indirectly, by his or herself, or by any other person on his or her behalf receives any money or valuable consideration on account of any person having voted or refrained from voting, or having induced any other person to vote or refrain from voting or having induced any candidate to refrain from canvassing for votes for his or herself at any such election, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.
(2) A voter commits an offence of bribery where before or during an election directly or indirectly by his or herself or by any other person on his or her behalf, receives,
agrees or contracts for any money, gift, loan, or valuable consideration, office, place or employment, for his or herself, or for any other person, for voting or agreeing to vote or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from voting at any such election.
(3) Nothing in this section shall extend or apply to money paid or agreed to be paid for or on account of any lawful expenses bona fide incurred at or concerning any
election.
(4) Any person who commits the offence of bribery is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.
(5) Any person who conspires, aids or abets any other person to commit any of the offences under this Part of this Act commits the same offence and is liable to the same punishment.
(6) For the purpose of this Act, a candidate shall be deemed to have committed an offence if it was committed with his or her knowledge and consent.
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