Falana Calls on Churches, Islamic Bodies to Take Active Role in Protecting 2027 Elections
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on religious bodies across the country to stop sitting on the fence and take an active role in protecting Nigeria’s democratic process ahead of the 2027 general election.
Falana made the appeal while chairing the 25th Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture, where he specifically urged Bishop Mike Okonkwo, convener and presiding bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), to mobilise the Church toward safeguarding the country’s electioneering process. He went further to formally urge Okonkwo to establish a human rights defence committee within the Church, assuring him that Nigeria’s human rights community stood ready to provide legal support for such an initiative. According to Falana, the Church must take the lead in speaking out on national issues, while also calling on Nigerians more broadly to unite and collectively demand what he described as genuine democracy.
Falana argued that Nigeria’s multicultural and multireligious composition meant that if the Christian community formed a dedicated pressure and monitoring group, it would likely prompt Islamic institutions to establish similar structures, extending the principle to other religious and traditional worship communities as well. He stressed, however, that democracy should not be understood merely as the conduct of periodic elections, insisting that accountable leadership, effective public service delivery, citizen welfare, and security are equally essential components of a genuinely functioning democratic society.
Beyond the electoral process itself, Falana urged religious leaders to take a more active interest in how public resources are managed across all tiers of government, specifically calling on them to scrutinise government budgets, track the implementation of public projects, and demand accountability from elected officials. He argued that such sustained institutional engagement would help strengthen governance overall and better protect the welfare of citizens. He further urged Nigerians to mobilise in defence of what he termed popular democracy, warning against the imposition of candidates by political godfathers and moneyed interests ahead of the 2027 polls.
Addressing suggestions in some political quarters that foreign powers should intervene to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy, Falana pushed back firmly, insisting that only Nigerians themselves can ultimately save their own democracy. He cautioned specifically against calls for the intervention of US President Donald Trump in Nigeria’s domestic political affairs, pointing to aspects of Trump’s own record, including his pressure on a Georgia election official following the 2020 US election and his pardoning of individuals convicted over the January 6 Capitol attack, as reasons why he considered such calls for external intervention misguided.
Speaking at the same event, Bishop Mike Okonkwo echoed Falana’s call for greater civic engagement, urging Nigerians to take responsibility for holding their leaders accountable rather than remaining passive observers of governance. He warned that continued public indifference toward those in power would only embolden office holders to act without restraint, leaving ordinary citizens increasingly powerless.
The appeal from Falana and Okonkwo adds to a broader chorus of civil society voices calling on religious institutions to play a more assertive role in Nigeria’s democratic process, as the country continues to grapple with mounting concerns over electoral credibility, insecurity, and governance ahead of the pivotal 2027 general election.
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