ABUJA, Nigeria — Political leaders across Nigeria have issued public threats of violence and intimidation against voters and political opponents following the official commencement of political campaigns by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Okay News reports that Yobe State chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Mohammed Gadaka, urged married women in Nangere to divorce husbands who prevent them from voting for the party, promising to pay their new bride price. Gadaka later withdrew the remark in a video posted on the Facebook page of Mamman Mohammed, Director General of Press and Media Affairs to Governor Mai Mala Buni, stating the comment was a joking banter between the Ngamo and Kare-Kare peoples.
In Osun State, Osun East Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi told supporters in Ilesa to kill members of the Accord Party seen on election day. His media office stated the senator meant defeating opponents at the polls, while Governor Ademola Adeleke called for the senator’s arrest, prompting police questioning.
In the Federal Capital Territory, Kuje Area Council Chairman Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo warned non-supporters of the ruling party to relocate ahead of 2027, citing development projects by President Bola Tinubu and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. Amnesty International Nigeria condemned the statement as a call to violence.
In Borno State, Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development Sainna Buba told a Tinubu City Boy Movement rally in Maiduguri that non-supporters would be flogged and opponents would have fingers broken. In Kebbi State, Gwandu Local Government Area Chairman Alhaji Atiku Ahmad Mandiya directed loyalists to deal with critics of Governor Nasir Idris and promised to secure the release of arrested supporters.
In Ebonyi State, Governor Francis Nwifuru told newly sworn-in local government chairmen at the Ecumenical Centre in Abakaliki that they would be replaced by councillors if they failed to deliver their areas to the ruling party in 2027. Ohaukwu Local Government Area Chairman Eze Paul Ituma vowed to enforce the directive.
The International Republican Institute recorded over 81 violent incidents in Osun State in the year leading up to its August governorship poll. Additionally, a security report by the Kimpact Development Initiative documented 73 election-related violent incidents resulting in 29 deaths ahead of local elections in Osun State, with Osogbo identified as the primary hotspot.
