Thursday September 24, 2026
SituationREPORT
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC is working with the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, 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, September 23, by the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC chairman, Adedayo Oketola, Amupitan identified security 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.
He said the commission was liaising with the police, as the lead agency on election security, to develop strategies for conducting elections in volatile areas.
Amupitan also expressed concern over the growing culture of personality-based politics and intolerance among political actors, urging parties 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.
He added that INEC was working with law-enforcement agencies to ensure that anyone found culpable of offences under the Electoral Act was arrested, investigated and prosecuted, noting that the responsibility for arrest and investigation rested with the police.
