By Afolayan Sunday
As the political landscape heats up ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issued a stern warning, vowing to crack down heavily on politicians making inflammatory statements and issuing threats.
The aggressive stance comes in response to a disturbing wave of aggressive rhetoric from high-ranking political office holders across various states.
Recent months have seen several disturbing incidents, including open threats of violence, forced displacement warnings directed at dissenting residents, and intimidation tactics aimed at voters and political opponents.
The New Diplomat reports that this comes after the senator representing the Osun East Senatorial District of Osun State in the Senate, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, was seen in a viral video issuing death threats to members of the Accord Party in the Ilesa area of Osun State.
In the Federal Capital Territory, the Chairman of Kuje Area Council, Samuel Shekwolo, reportedly threatened that anyone who was not a supporter of the All Progressives Congress should leave the council area.
Similarly, the Borno State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Sainna Buba, threatened that those who refused to support the APC in the 2027 elections would be flogged.
In Ebonyi State, the newly sworn-in Chairman of Ohaukwu Local Government Area, Eze Ituma, warned opposition parties and their supporters against conducting political activities in the council ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said individuals whose political activities conflicted with his interests could be declared persona non grata.
In Yobe State, the APC Chairman, Muhammad Gadaka, made another controversial remark at a campaign rally in Nangere, where he urged married women whose husbands prevented them from voting for the party to seek divorce.
“If your husband won’t allow you to vote for APC, stand up to him and seek a divorce. If you leave the marriage, I will pay your dowry and marry you,” he stated.
Reacting to these comments, the Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Mr Adedayo Oketola, speaking during an interview, said the commission had the power to monitor political campaigns and sanction parties that failed to comply with campaign guidelines.
He said political campaigns should be “platforms of competing ideas, not theatres of war.”
Oketola said: “Beyond inter-agency security coordination, INEC is statutorily empowered to monitor political campaigns and enforce compliance with the Code of Conduct for Political Parties. The commission can issue formal queries and sanction non-compliant parties within its administrative limits.
“To enforce deterrence, Section 96 (7) of the Electoral Act prescribes severe statutory penalties: ‘Any candidate who commits these offences is liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of N5m or imprisonment for a term of 12 months, while a non-compliant political party is liable to a fine of N10m in the first instance, and N2m for each subsequent offence.’
The New Diplomat reports also that under the Electoral Act 2026, threats and the use of force or violence during political campaigns are prohibited.
Section 97(1) provides that a party, candidate, aspirant, person or group of persons shall not directly or indirectly threaten another person with the use of force or violence during a political campaign to compel that person or another person to support or refrain from supporting a political party or candidate.
Section 132 of the Act also criminalises threatening or using force, violence or restraint to influence voting.
The provision states that anyone who directly or indirectly uses or threatens to use force, violence or restraint, or threatens injury, damage, harm or loss to compel a person to vote or refrain from voting, commits an offence.
A person convicted under the provision is liable to a fine of N2m or imprisonment for three years.
