By Okechukwu Nwanguma
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS) and other relevant security and law-enforcement agencies to respond promptly, impartially and in accordance with their constitutional and statutory responsibilities to the emerging signs of political intimidation and violence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
RULAAC is concerned that recent incidents and allegations across several states point to warning signs that should not be ignored until election day. These include inflammatory or threatening political rhetoric; reported disruption of opposition political meetings; obstruction of the movement of political actors; allegations of discriminatory interference with campaign materials; and reported threats of physical violence against political opponents.
These incidents are not all identical, and allegations must be independently investigated. Taken together, they underline the need for early institutional intervention.
Election security begins before election day.
A credible election cannot be secured merely by deploying thousands of armed personnel to polling units after months of threats, intimidation, political violence and impunity have already restricted political participation.
The Electoral Act expressly prohibits the organisation or equipping of groups for the use of force or coercion for political purposes and prohibits threats of force or violence intended to compel citizens to support, or refrain from supporting, political parties or candidates. These prohibitions must be enforced without regard to party affiliation.
RULAAC therefore calls for the following immediate measures: The President must give an unequivocal directive for institutional neutrality. President Tinubu bears responsibilities not only as a candidate and leader of the ruling party but, more importantly, as President of the Federal Republic. He should publicly reaffirm that no governor, minister, local government chairman, party official, candidate or political supporter will receive protection from investigation or prosecution where credible evidence of electoral violence, threats or intimidation exists.
The Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies must investigate credible threats before they become violence. Police commands should identify emerging hotspots, investigate threats and attacks, identify sponsors and organisers of political violence, trace illegal weapons and dismantle groups being mobilised for intimidation. Dialogue and peace meetings can be useful preventive measures, but they must not replace criminal investigation where conduct may constitute an offence.
Political neutrality must become the operational standard for election policing. The Police Act requires the Police to maintain public safety and order while protecting fundamental rights and acting fairly irrespective of political beliefs or affiliations. The same protection must therefore apply to government and opposition candidates, rallies and supporters. Security agencies must never become instruments for restricting lawful political competition.
INEC must strengthen its monitoring and early-warning role. INEC has constitutional responsibilities that include monitoring political campaigns and regulating political-party conduct. The Commission should systematically document incidents capable of undermining free political competition and establish effective channels for referring suspected offences to the appropriate investigative authorities.
There must be consequences for political violence. Arresting suspected foot soldiers without investigating those who recruit, finance, arm or direct them will not dismantle the structures that sustain electoral violence. Investigations must follow the chain of responsibility wherever the evidence leads.
Political parties must be held to their commitments under the National Peace Accord. President Tinubu’s representatives and other political actors signed the National Peace Accord on 18 August 2026, committing themselves to peaceful and issue-based campaigns. The accord must not become a ceremonial document. Where political conduct crosses from aggressive rhetoric into threats, intimidation or violence, statutory institutions must enforce the law.
RULAAC recalls INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan’s call for the 2027 campaign to become a “marketplace of ideas” rather than a “theatre of war.” That aspiration can only have meaning if citizens and candidates are genuinely free to campaign, associate, assemble and move throughout Nigeria without intimidation.
RULAAC also calls for a coordinated national electoral early-warning and response mechanism involving INEC, the Police, DSS, other relevant agencies, civil society organisations, election observers and community-based networks. Such a mechanism should identify emerging threats, track responses and ensure that credible reports do not disappear into bureaucratic silence.
Special attention should be paid to areas already experiencing insecurity, including the Southeast. Election-security measures in such areas must be intelligence-led, proportionate and community-sensitive. Entire communities must not be treated as security threats, nor should excessive security deployments themselves become a source of voter intimidation.
RULAAC further urges security agencies to ensure adequate welfare, training, identification and clear rules of engagement for personnel assigned to electoral duties. Officers who are poorly supported or inadequately supervised may become more vulnerable to political influence, inducement or misconduct. President Tinubu has publicly committed himself and his party to peaceful campaigning and rejection of violence and incitement. Those commitments should now be demonstrated through the impartial conduct of state institutions.
The most important test is straightforward: Can an opposition candidate campaign in a state controlled by another party with the same protection of the law enjoyed by the governing party—and vice versa?
Can citizens attend political meetings without fear?
Can campaign materials be displayed subject to the same rules regardless of political affiliation? Can allegations against politically connected individuals be investigated with the same diligence applied to ordinary citizens? These are the practical tests of institutional neutrality.
Nigeria must not wait for fatalities, mass violence, or widespread disruption before responding. The warning signs must be treated as opportunities for prevention. The security of the 2027 elections is being determined now.
RULAAC therefore calls on President Tinubu, INEC, the Inspector-General of Police, the DSS and other relevant institutions to act early, transparently and impartially. Those who threaten, organise, finance or perpetrate political violence must know that political affiliation will neither shield them from investigation nor place them above the law.
Peace accords are important. But peace accords cannot substitute for law enforcement. Nigeria’s institutions must demonstrate, through their actions, that the political space belongs equally to all Nigerians and that no street, community, local government or state can be converted into a no-go area for lawful political activity.
- Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC)
