Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has urged religious bodies to play a more active role in protecting Nigeria’s democracy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Falana made the call at the 25th Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture, themed ‘Democracy at the Crossroads: Electoral Credibility, Judicial Integrity and the Future of Nigeria’, held at the MUSON Centre in Lagos.
The senior lawyer said religious institutions could no longer afford to remain passive when government policies and decisions directly affected the lives, welfare and rights of their members and other Nigerians.
Falana urged churches and other religious organisations to look beyond spiritual activities and pay closer attention to the management of public resources at the federal, state and local government levels.
He also called on religious bodies to scrutinise government budgets and monitor the implementation of projects and programmes funded with public money, arguing that such involvement would promote accountability and strengthen good governance.
“Democracy should not be reduced to the conduct of elections. Accountable leadership, effective public service, citizens’ welfare and security were also essential to a functioning democratic society.
“Religious bodies should not sit on the fence but get up and save Nigeria’s democracy,” he said.
