Examination of the offence of undue influence under the electoral act 2022

Abstract

The offence of undue influence under the Electoral Act 2022 is a critical legal tool designed to protect the integrity of elections by  preventing the manipulation of voters through payment of money either directly or indirectly in order to achieve a specific outcome or to  discourage voters from participating freely and fairly in the electoral process. This offence is rampant in Nigeria and it is a serious violation of the electoral process. The offence of undue influence is treated with strict penalties under the Nigerian law. The judiciary as  the watch dog of all authorities and persons in Nigeria plays a crucial role in addressing this offence. There are a lot of challenges in proving undue influence because of the high evidentiary standard required to nullify an election based on such claims. The writer looks at  this offence with the aim of reducing this offence to its barest minimum for the purpose of strengthening Nigeria’s democratic  system. Doctrinal research methodology was adopted in this work. The offence of undue influence is one of the major threats that  prevent the achieving of free and fair elections in Nigeria. The work proffers solutions aimed at eradicating this menace in our democratic  journey for the benefit of our nascent democracy.