The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has warned political parties and candidates that it will not tolerate violence, hate speech or vote-buying ahead of the 2027 general election, promising arrests, sanctions and prosecution of offenders.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, issued the warning yesterday at a strategic workshop for editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, in collaboration with the commission in Abuja.
Amupitan said the commission had activated an early-warning system through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, to monitor political violence, thuggeryand inflammatory campaign rhetoric.
He said parties and candidates found inciting violence, disrupting campaign activities or using armed thugs would face statutory sanctions and prosecution.
“No political office in this country is worth the blood of a single Nigerian,” Amupitan said.
He also disclosed that the commission had received reports of alarming conduct ahead of the election. According to him, evidence was shown to him shortly before his address of a candidate in Kano State allegedly campaigning while displaying a firearm.
He further cited threats allegedly made against INEC officials involving AK-47 rifles, describing the development as an indication of the dangerous direction political contests could take if unchecked.
On vote-buying, the INEC chairman said the commission was adopting an uncompromising approach to the practice, warning that treating votes as commodities undermined the integrity of elections.
He said INEC was working with the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, to tackle money politics.
Amupitan also outlined the commission’s preparations for the 2027 election. He said the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, conducted between August 2025 and July 2026 produced more than 10.6 million new registrants.
The commission has also acquired 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, devices, while an enhanced eEC8A system is expected to digitise and authenticate polling unit result sheets before their transmission to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV.
Security preparations are also being expanded, with the commission considering bulletproof vehicles for personnel working in election flashpoints after staff in parts of the North-West raised concerns over insecurity.
Meanwhile, NGE President, Eze Anaba, stressed the media’s role in protecting electoral credibility, particularly amid misinformation, disinformation, deepfakes and partisan narratives.
He said stronger cooperation between INEC and the media was necessary to ensure voters receive accurate, timely and accessible information before the 2027 elections.
