INEC, Police Move to Identify, Arrest Perpetrators of Pre-Election Violence Ahead of 2027

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is working with the Nigeria Police Force to identify and arrest perpetrators of pre-election violence, particularly in states affected by insecurity, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this during a panel session at the sixth edition of the Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers in Owerri, Imo State.

The conference was themed, “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security During Elections.”

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC chairman, Adedayo Oketola, Amupitan identified insecurity as one of the commission’s major concerns ahead of the 2027 elections.

“There are still some states in Nigeria that you have a lot of insecurities around, and it’s a major source of concern for us. Because that can be a source of disenfranchisement of Nigerians, and we don’t want any Nigerian to be disenfranchised,” he said.

The INEC chairman said the commission was liaising with the police, as the lead agency responsible for election security, to develop strategies for conducting elections in volatile areas.

Amupitan also expressed concern over what he described as a growing culture of personality-based politics and intolerance among political actors.

He urged political parties and their candidates to focus their campaigns on issues rather than attacking opponents.

“Election should be based on issues and not campaign of calumny and denigration,” he said.

The chairman said INEC was also working with law-enforcement agencies to ensure that anyone found culpable of offences under the Electoral Act was arrested, investigated and prosecuted.

He noted that the responsibility for arrest and investigation rested with the police and other relevant law-enforcement agencies.

On litigation arising from political party primaries, Amupitan said such disputes were matters for the courts and would not prevent the conduct of the 2027 elections.

He explained that although several cases relating to party primaries were before the courts, the Electoral Act provided for their determination through the judicial process up to the final appellate level.

According to him, elections are contested by political parties rather than individual candidates, meaning pending litigation would not prevent a party from participating in the election.

“Whichever decision that comes out with at the end of the day, INEC will abide by it,” he said.

On electoral malpractice, Amupitan said the commission was strengthening its intelligence-gathering capacity to tackle vote buying, which he said was increasingly being organised outside polling units.

“These things are done and planned before the election. And most of the issues of vote buying now, you don’t even see them at the polling units. They are done outside of the polling units. So we need to activate intelligence,” he said.

The INEC chairman disclosed that the commission was working towards establishing a joint task force involving the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Attorney-General’s office and other security agencies.

He stressed that INEC itself did not have powers of arrest or investigation.

Amupitan said INEC’s responsibilities would also include ensuring effective logistics and result management, adding that the commission would continue to address shortcomings identified in previous elections.

On inter-agency coordination, he said recommendations from the Owerri retreat would be presented to the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).

He noted that ICCES comprises the Inspector-General of Police, the INEC chairman and other security and relevant agencies, including the Office of the National Security Adviser.

The INEC chairman said recent off-cycle elections had provided lessons that would strengthen the commission’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.

He cited the Anambra, FCT and Osun elections among the recent polls, noting that none of the five off-cycle elections conducted so far had been declared inconclusive.

According to him, lessons from each election had been used to improve subsequent electoral exercises.

Amupitan also dismissed concerns that had preceded the Osun election, saying INEC remained committed to ensuring transparency in the electoral process.

“Just like some people were saying, oh, Osun is going to be this, Osun is going to be that, Osun is going to bring down the country. But we did everything possible, because what Nigerians are waiting for is just to be sure that the election is transparent,” he said.

He reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible and inclusive 2027 general election.