A constitutional scholar, Prof. Auwalu Yadudu, has identified the country’s legal architecture and overreaching judicial decisions as drivers of Nigeria’s declining voter turnout and growing cynicism towards the democratic process.
The Bayero University Kano (BUK) scholar argued that the development consistently override the popular will expressed at the ballot box.
Yadudu stated this in a paper titled “Democracy without Participation: Understanding the Threat of Voter Apathy”, delivered at the All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) 2026 in Enugu, organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).
He warned that the erosion of legitimacy in Nigerian elections threatens the foundation of representative democracy.
The scholar acknowledged that social scientists measure apathy using quantitative metrics, analysing factors such as governance failure, electoral violence, religious dynamics, and the incompetence of election managers,
He said that his focus as a constitutional scholar and legal observer lies in how public perception of judicial overreach disenfranchises the electorate.
According to him, democracy is about representative leadership whose legitimacy derives from votes freely given to determine the choice of the electorate.
He argued that when courtrooms replace polling booths as the ultimate decider of elections, voters naturally question the utility of their participation.
To demonstrate how court rulings subvert voter intent, the constitutional scholar highlighted several landmark electoral disputes and court judgments that shocked the Nigerian political space.
He, however, acknowledged that judges were often forced into certain positions by an unbridled, litigious political class and egregious violation of electoral laws by parties and election managers.
“Would one urge the courts and judges to shut their doors to litigants given egregious violations of electoral procedures?” he asked.
He called instead for deep attitudinal, statutory, and constitutional reforms to keep democratic choices strictly in the hands of voters and minimize judicial meddling.
Addressing the internal decay within the bench, Yadudu echoed concerns raised by legal activist Chidi Odinkalu regarding judicial misbehavior, referring critically to instances of corrupt jurisprudence.
He insisted that judges who exhibit total disregard for judicial propriety, hierarchical order, and professional ethics must be called out publicly and dealt with decisively by oversight bodies.
“Judicial impertinence and rascality should be called out, otherwise, ‘a single seed of bean will spoil the dough’, and the pervasive smear of impropriety will end up sticking to the entire judiciary,” he said.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
