Senate Moves to End Unregistered Births, Deaths With New Electronic Civil Registration Bill in Nigeria
By Fatima Saka
The Nigerian Senate on Thursday advanced a landmark bill seeking to repeal the Births, Deaths, Etc. (Compulsory Registration) Act, Cap. B9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and replace it with a modern legal framework for compulsory electronic civil registration across the country.
The proposed legislation, A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Births, Deaths, Etc. (Compulsory Registration) Act Cap. B9, LFN 2004 and Enact the Compulsory Civil Registration Act 2025, and for Related Matters (SB. 913), was moved for second reading by Senator Victor Chukwunonyelu Umeh (Anambra Central).
Leading the debate, Senator Umeh described the existing law as “colonial-era, obsolete and grossly inadequate” for Nigeria’s current realities, noting that it relies on manual record-keeping, weak data capture systems, and fragmented responsibilities among government institutions.
“Despite being over six decades old in its core structure, the current law relies on manual processes that lead to inefficiency, duplication, record loss, forgery and unreliable statistics,” he said. “Less than 60 per cent of births and under 20 per cent of deaths in Nigeria are officially registered, leaving the country without a reliable and up-to-date national database of vital statistics.”
He explained that the new bill proposes the establishment of an Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (ECRVS) system, which will provide a real-time digital platform for registering all vital events including births, deaths, marriages, divorces, adoptions and stillbirths. It also seeks to integrate civil registration data with national identity and health information systems.
According to the lawmaker, the reform will improve national planning in critical sectors such as health, education, security and social welfare, strengthen identity management for citizens and residents, and enhance migration control and national security.
“The ability of a nation to accurately account for every birth and death within its borders is a sign of effective governance in a 21st-century, data-driven world,” Umeh added.
Several senators rose to support the bill, describing it as long overdue. One senator noted that in developed nations, accurate birth and death records are easily accessed at the push of a button, enabling effective governance and targeted public spending.
Senator Diket Plang Plateau Central stressed that birth registration gives a child legal identity and access to rights such as schooling, voting eligibility, and employment, while proper death registration helps establish causes of death and guides public health policy.
Another lawmaker, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim Ondo State emphasised that accurate population data is crucial for credible budgeting and national development planning, adding that poor death registration has enabled financial leakages through payments to deceased persons.
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Following extensive contributions, a motion was moved and adopted as the bill passed second reading. The Senate subsequently referred the bill to the Senate Committee on National Identity and National Population, with a mandate to report back within four weeks.
If passed into law, the legislation is expected to mark a significant step in Nigeria’s digital transformation efforts and ensure that no citizen is left undocumented from birth to death.
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