|
Listen to article
|
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has asked the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, for support and collaboration of the Nigeria Police Force ahead of the 2027 general elections, describing security as both the “first mile and the last mile” of the electoral process.
INEC, in its bulletin on Thursday, said Amupitan made the appeal on Wednesday during a courtesy visit to the IGP in Abuja, where he informed the police leadership that INEC had commenced full preparations for the elections, scheduled for January 16, 2027, for the Presidential and National Assembly polls, and February 6, 2027, for Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.
The INEC chairman told the IGP that the release of the election timetable and ongoing political party activities, including ward congresses and conventions, had effectively activated the electoral process and constituted what he described as a “security trigger” requiring immediate and sustained attention from security agencies.
Amupitan identified electoral malpractices, vote trading and threats of violence as factors that continue to undermine public confidence in the electoral system and pose direct risks to national security.
Read Also: FG Ramps Up Effort To Reverse Nigeria’s US Designation
He called for proactive security measures, including comprehensive risk assessments to identify potential flashpoints before they escalate.
“The scale of insecurity across various parts of the country presents a threat to the conduct of free and fair elections. It is essential that we carry out thorough security risk analyses ahead of the elections,” he said.
The INEC chairman also drew attention to upcoming off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States, as well as a series of bye-elections across the country, urging that all of them be treated as critical milestones deserving of full security coverage. “These elections are crucial milestones in Nigeria’s democratic journey, and it is imperative that they are conducted peacefully and seamlessly,” he said.
Amupitan emphasised the role of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, which he described as the “heartbeat” of operational safety during elections, saying its effectiveness must shift from reactive policing to proactive intelligence coordination.
“Our success depends on ICCES moving from reactive policing to proactive intelligence coordination,” he said, stressing the need for a unified, multi-agency approach to protecting electoral personnel, materials and voters.
He also congratulated the IGP on his recent appointment, expressing confidence that his experience would strengthen collective efforts toward a safe and credible electoral environment.
Responding, IGP Disu assured INEC of the Police Force’s full preparedness, saying the Force would discharge its responsibilities with professionalism, impartiality and strict adherence to the Constitution, the Electoral Act and all extant laws.
Disu disclosed that the Force had already begun strategic threat assessments and intelligence mapping nationwide, identifying political violence, the proliferation of illegal arms, voter intimidation, cyber manipulation, misinformation and attacks on electoral infrastructure as priority concerns demanding proactive attention.
The IGP gave a firm assurance that no political party, candidate or interest group would receive preferential treatment from the Police, and warned that any officer found engaging in partisan conduct or unethical practices would face both disciplinary and legal consequences. “We will ensure that we enforce electoral laws firmly and we will do it professionally,” he said.
Disu also called for the early release and wide dissemination of the election timetable to allow for effective planning, logistics coordination, personnel training and inter-agency collaboration.
He revealed plans to engage political parties through peace accords and stakeholder seminars aimed at promoting peaceful conduct before, during and after the elections, and said officers selected for election duties would undergo intensive training covering electoral security management, human rights compliance, rules of engagement, crowd control and ethical conduct.
Nigeria is pushing Washington to remove it from a list of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom, with the country’s foreign minister confirming that the designation formed a central part of discussions held with the US Chargé d’Affaires in Abuja this week.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu disclosed the engagement on her X account, saying that US Chargé d’Affaires David Heffern’s courtesy visit covered a broad range of bilateral concerns — security and defense cooperation, border and migration challenges, counter-terrorism initiatives, intelligence sharing and visa matters — with Nigeria’s Country of Particular Concern designation threading through as a key agenda item.
“We also discussed our collaborations within the Joint Working Group, measures to promote stability within the region as well as Nigeria’s CPC designation by the United States,” Odumegwu-Ojukwu wrote, describing the engagement as “very constructive.” She said the federal government would continue to “engage on the necessary measures and collaborations needed to reverse this designation” and deepen bilateral relations between the two countries.
The CPC label was applied to Nigeria by the Trump administration in 2025, following what Washington described as the government’s failure to adequately combat severe and systematic violations of religious freedom. The designation was driven primarily by the documented persecution of Christian communities across northern and central Nigeria, and by what American officials characterized as insufficient government action against violence carried out by Boko Haram and Fulani militia groups in the North East and Middle Belt regions — areas where attacks on farming communities, churches and villages have displaced millions and claimed thousands of lives over more than a decade.
Being listed as a Country of Particular Concern by the US State Department is not a designation countries absorb quietly. It places Nigeria alongside nations Washington regards as among the world’s most serious offenders on religious liberty — a grouping that has historically included China, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The consequences extend beyond reputation: CPC status can trigger restrictions on foreign assistance, affect bilateral diplomatic leverage and signal to American faith communities and lawmakers that the designated government is not a reliable partner on human rights.
Read also: No Nigerian Was Killed In South Africa Protest – FG Reports
Nigeria has consistently rejected the characterization. Abuja has argued that the label fails to account for the complexity of a country of more than 220 million people, roughly split between Christians and Muslims, where the federal government is simultaneously fighting a jihadist insurgency in the Northeast, attempting to contain armed banditry in the Northwest and managing farmer-herder conflicts in the Middle Belt that have ethno-religious dimensions the government says it cannot reduce to simple religious persecution.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, the independent advisory body whose annual recommendations inform CPC designations, has flagged Nigeria repeatedly in recent years. Its reports have documented the murders of Christian clergy, the burning of churches, the abduction of Christian students — most notoriously the 2014 Chibok schoolgirl kidnappings by Boko Haram — and the broader pattern of impunity surrounding violence against vulnerable communities. Nigerian officials have disputed portions of those findings while acknowledging that security failures in affected regions are real and ongoing.
The Joint Working Group through which both governments are attempting to address the underlying concerns represents a structured bilateral mechanism designed to show measurable progress — the kind that might give the State Department grounds to reconsider the designation at its next review cycle. Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s framing of the discussions as focused on security cooperation, counter-terrorism and regional stabilization suggests Nigeria is making the case that its partnership value to Washington on practical security matters should be weighed alongside the religious freedom concerns driving the listing.
