INEC Chairman Sounds Alarm Ahead Of 2027, Threatens Sanctions For Electoral Offenders

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned political parties, candidates and campaign managers against violence, hate speech, intimidation and vote-buying ahead of the 2027 general elections, stressing that offenders will face sanctions and possible prosecution.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, issued the warning in Abuja while speaking at a strategic workshop for editors organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors in collaboration with the electoral commission.

According to Bush Radio Academy, Amupitan said the commission would not allow political competition to degenerate into violence, intimidation or inflammatory rhetoric as electioneering activities intensify across the country.

He stressed that democratic competition should be based on ideas and policies rather than violence, weapons or hate speech.

The INEC chairman disclosed that the commission had activated an early-warning mechanism through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to monitor political violence, thuggery and dangerous campaign rhetoric.

Amupitan warned that political parties or candidates found to be involved in inciting violence, disrupting campaign activities or deploying armed thugs could face statutory sanctions and prosecution.

He said no political position was worth the loss of a Nigerian life and urged political actors and their supporters to exercise restraint throughout the electoral process.

Speaking outside his prepared remarks, Amupitan also referred to information he said had been brought to his attention concerning an alleged NDC candidate in Kano State who was reportedly seen carrying a firearm during a campaign.

He further disclosed that a threat had allegedly been made against INEC personnel, including a warning involving AK-47 rifles.

The INEC chairman urged Nigerians to remember their responsibilities as citizens and approach elections as a periodic democratic process for choosing leaders.

He also announced that the commission was adopting what he described as an uncompromising approach to vote-buying ahead of the 2027 elections.

Amupitan said INEC was collaborating 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) in efforts to tackle financial inducement and other electoral offences.

On voter registration, the INEC chairman said more than 10.6 million new registrants had been recorded across three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

He said the first phase, conducted between August 25 and December 10, 2025, recorded 2,611,266 registrants, while the second phase between January 5 and April 17, 2026, recorded 4,121,835. The third phase, conducted from May 11 to July 26, 2026, reportedly produced 3,867,997 additional registrants.

Amupitan also disclosed that INEC had acquired 57,000 additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices to improve electoral operations.

He said the commission had also enhanced its electronic result management system, including measures designed to digitise polling-unit result sheets, authenticate them cryptographically and transmit them directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.

According to him, the measures are intended to strengthen the integrity of polling-unit results and reduce opportunities for manipulation before figures are entered into BVAS and transmitted to the result portal. INEC has previously said it introduced additional safeguards around BVAS and result transmission to address possible manipulation.

The INEC chairman further disclosed that the commission was reviewing the security needs of its personnel, particularly those working in areas considered vulnerable to attacks.

He said staff from Zamfara, Sokoto and other states had requested bulletproof vests and vehicles during the commission’s engagement in Kaduna, adding that INEC was considering the acquisition of bulletproof vehicles for personnel operating in security flashpoints.

Amupitan said physical readiness audits and staff engagements had been completed in the South-West and North-West, with similar exercises scheduled for the remaining geopolitical zones.

The audits, he explained, covered office facilities, secure storage arrangements, security command procedures and logistics networks.

On staff welfare, the INEC chairman announced the introduction of the Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure and a 150 per cent increase in operational overheads for state offices, effective July 1, 2026.

He said the commission was working to secure the necessary funding to ensure immediate implementation of the new measures.

The developments form part of INEC’s wider preparations for the 2027 general elections, with the commission continuing to emphasise electoral security, technology, voter registration and compliance with electoral laws.