Police Disperse Protesters at National Assembly with Tear Gas

On Tuesday, demonstrators gathered at the National Assembly in Nigeria to protest the proposed amendment to the 2026 Electoral Act, specifically calling for mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results. The Nigerian police force allegedly deployed tear gas to disperse the crowd.

This protest resumed after a five-day pause, which followed assurances made during the Senate's session last Tuesday. The Senate was set to reconvene for an emergency plenary to review contentious clauses, particularly Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act amendment bill, after widespread public backlash.

During the previous session, Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno of the APC from Borno North tabled a motion to eliminate the term "real-time" and substitute it with "transmission" in the bill, which has drawn wide condemnation from civil society groups advocating for electoral reform.