Section 23
Offences relating to register of voters(1) Any person who—
(a) after demand or requisition made of him or her under this Act without just cause, fails to give any such information as he or she possesses or does not give the information within the time specified;
(b) in the name of any other person, whether living, dead or fictitious, signs an application form for registration as a voter to have that other person registered as a voter;
(c) transmits or is involved in transmitting to any person as genuine a declaration relating to registration which is false in any material particular, knowing it to be false;
(d) intentionally procures the inclusion in the Register of Voters of his or herself or any other person with the knowledge that he or she or that other person ought not to have been registered; or
(e) by his or herself or any other person procures the registration of a fictitious person, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not more than N100,000 or imprisonment for a term not more than one year or both.
(2) Any person who—
(a) by duress, including threats of any kind causes or induces any person or persons generally to refrain from registering as a voter or voters; or
(b) in any way hinders another person from registering as a voter; commits an offence and is liable on conviction, to a fine not more than N500,000 or imprisonment for a term not more than five years.
This section outlines the offences that can arise from the process of registration of Voters. While Section 23(1) deals with fraudulently registering a person, section 23(2) focuses on the use of force or threats to hinder a person from registering or compelling them to register.
23(1)(a) makes it an offence to withhold information where it has been expressly requested relating to the voter’s registration
23(1)(b) outlaws the falsification of information for the purpose of registering a dead person or including a name of a person who does not exist in the Register of Voters.
23(1)(c) penalizes persons that knowingly transmit to any person, a false declaration relating to registration. This includes providing falsified versions of the documents listed in Section 10(2) of the Electoral Act.
23(1)(d) refers to a scenario where a person does not adhere to the requirements in Section 12 of the Electoral Act
Note that the fines for Section 23(1) is pegged at N100,000 or a year’s imprisonment or both while offences under Section 23(2) is pegged at N500,000 or 5 years imprisonment or both
