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Civil society groups assembled outside the National Assembly in Abuja to call for clearer safeguards in Nigeria’s electoral process, with human rights activist Omoyele Sowore addressing participants on the question of electoral reform.
Sowore said security agencies should confine their role to maintaining order and avoid actions that could be perceived as restricting peaceful civic expression. He noted that public frustration around electoral credibility continues to shape citizen engagement with the reform process.
The protest focused on proposals relating to the electronic transmission of election results. Sowore argued that attention should shift beyond transmission to the broader question of electronic voting.
“My preference is electronic voting, not even transmission,” he said. “What gets transmitted at the end of the day is what has been reached.”
He characterised incremental adjustments to the electoral framework as insufficient and reiterated his long-held view that more fundamental political changes are required to address governance challenges.
A brief moment of tension occurred when protesters met a police barricade near the complex. Sowore referenced the crowd’s decision to move past the barrier together but emphasised that the gathering remained focused on its central message around electoral reform.
Drawing a comparison with civic actions in other countries, he suggested that Nigerians should remain confident in asserting their democratic rights through lawful means.
