The Independent National Electoral Commission has warned political parties, candidates and their agents that no ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian, vowing arrests, sanctions and prosecution for those who resort to violence, hate speech or vote-buying ahead of the 2027 general election.
INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan SAN issued the warning on Monday at a strategic workshop for editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors in collaboration with the commission in Abuja.
“As electioneering intensifies across the country, I must sound a clear note of warning to all political parties, candidates, and campaign managers: INEC will not stand by and allow political competition to devolve into violence, intimidation, or inflammatory rhetoric,” he said. “Democracy thrives on the clash of ideas, not the clash of weapons or the proliferation of hate speech.”
Amupitan said the commission, through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, has activated an early-warning tracking framework to log incidents of political violence, thuggery and dangerous campaign rhetoric. Any party or candidate implicated in inciting violence, disrupting rivals’ rallies or deploying armed thugs will face statutory sanctions and swift prosecution.
Departing from his prepared text, the chairman disclosed that he had just been shown evidence of the conduct he was condemning. He cited an NDC candidate in Kano State who campaigned the previous day while brandishing a gun, and another individual who threatened to kill INEC officials with AK-47s.
“That is what elections have turned into in Nigeria of today,” Amupitan said, appealing for restraint and reminding citizens that elections are a periodic process for choosing leaders every four years.
On vote-buying, he announced an uncompromising stance, describing the practice as fatally compromising the integrity of the ballot. The commission is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to tackle the problem.
Amupitan also provided updates on electoral preparations. Phase I of the Continuous Voter Registration, held between August 25 and December 10, 2025, recorded 2,611,266 new voters. Phase II, from January 5 to April 17, 2026, added 4,121,835, while Phase III, from May 11 to July 26, 2026, registered 3,867,997. The three phases together produced more than 10.6 million new registrants, taking the total voter register above 103 million. Collection of Permanent Voter Cards begins on Friday.
The commission has acquired 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices. It has also enhanced the eEC8A system, which digitises polling unit result sheets, authenticates them cryptographically and uploads them directly from polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal. The system is intended to prevent manipulation of figures at the polling unit level before they are entered into the BVAS and transmitted to IReV.
At a recent North-West zonal engagement in Kaduna, staff from Zamfara, Sokoto and other states requested bulletproof vests and vehicles because of insecurity. Amupitan said the commission may provide bulletproof vehicles for staff in flashpoint areas. Physical readiness audits and staff engagements have been completed in the South-West and North-West zones, with the remaining four geopolitical zones to follow.
On staff welfare, the commission has introduced the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure, accompanied by a 150 per cent increase in state office operational overheads effective July 1, 2026. Work is ongoing to secure the cash backing for immediate implementation.
Nigerian Guild of Editors President Eze Anaba described the partnership with INEC as timely. He stressed that elections are about trust and that the media plays a critical role in sustaining public confidence through accuracy, fairness and balance.
Anaba noted that the media cannot fulfil this responsibility without credible, timely information from the electoral body, especially in an environment marked by misinformation, disinformation and partisan narratives.
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