As Nigeria prepares for upcoming bye-elections across 12 states, the Anambra governorship election, and the 2025 Area Council polls in the Federal Capital Territory, the Federal Government has issued a stern warning to political actors to refrain from violence and electoral malpractices.
The government stressed its resolve to deal decisively with any individuals or groups attempting to test its will, adding that it would scale up intelligence operations to detect and neutralize threats before they disrupt the democratic process.
This warning was delivered in Abuja on Friday by the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, during the second regular consultative meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Ribadu was represented by Hassan Y. Abdullahi, Director of Internal Security at the Office of the NSA.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, provided a rundown of all the elections scheduled between now and February 2025. He called on security operatives to step up their efforts in securing electoral processes and the upcoming Continuous Voter Registration.
Yakubu observed that the current security climate in Anambra is more stable compared to the tense atmosphere that preceded the last governorship poll four years ago. He urged ICCES to use the CVR as an opportunity to fine-tune election security strategies.
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He said, “As we plan for the bye-elections, the Anambra State Governorship election and the resumption of the CVR, I call on the security agencies to make adequate and proactive arrangements for the protection of personnel and assets to be deployed by the Commission and all stakeholders for these activities.
“There are some specific areas of security concern raised at our consultative meetings with Political Parties, Civil Society Organisations and the Media earlier this week. These concerns will be presented to you for your necessary action at this meeting.”
Delivering the NSA’s message, Abdullahi emphasized that the overarching goal remains the protection of the electoral process and the people’s right to vote in peace.
He said, “Our primary objective remains to safeguard the integrity of the upcoming elections. Therefore, we must ensure that eligible voters exercise their right to vote without fear or intimidation. In this regard, we will strengthen collaboration between security and law enforcement agencies to quickly address potential threats and challenges during the elections.
“Accordingly, the security component of ICCES will, among other things, intensify intelligence efforts to monitor and pre-empt any threats to these elections and provide real-time intelligence to enable the implementation of proactive measures. This is especially in States that are infested with recalcitrant subversive non-state actors who could be exploited by desperate politicians to undermine the elections.
“We will also maintain dialogue with the leadership of political parties and candidates to foster understanding and reduce tensions, as engagement with these stakeholders has proven effective in the past and should remain a priority.
“Political actors and their supporters in the affected States and the FCT are warned to conduct themselves with decorum and respect for the democratic process, as any form of electoral violence and malpractices has no place in our elections.”
The meeting is part of INEC’s strategic approach to ensure credible and secure elections, with the active collaboration of security agencies under the ICCES framework.
