INEC unveils new security plan to curb violence before 2027 elections
- INEC says it will map flashpoints and protect staff, voters and materials ahead of the 2027 polls.
- The commission says a plot against ad-hoc staff and NYSC members was foiled and suspects are being prosecuted.
- In Kaduna, INEC flagged violence, technology failures and low PVC collection as risks to the vote.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) don set out new security plan to stop violence before and during the 2027 general elections, and e talk say dem go pursue anybody wey threaten dia staff, ad-hoc workers or National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.
INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan, wey be Senior Advocate of Nigeria, announce the framework for Gombe during North-East zonal meeting with staff on readiness for the 2027 polls, according to the commission daily bulletin.
The plan wey INEC call "ICCES Tentacle" go extend coordination among security agencies from national and state headquarters down to local government areas and registration area centres. The agencies wey dey involved include Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Department of State Services (DSS) and the Armed Forces, working under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
Wetin the plan involve
Amupitan talk say the framework stand on three pillars: mapping and mitigating risks early, making sure voters, staff and equipment like the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices dey safe, and guaranteeing access to all 176,846 polling units nationwide.
He talk say joint operations wey DSS lead recently uncover covert plot by criminal kingpins wey target the commission ad-hoc staff and corps members. He talk say dem neutralise the threat and arrest the main orchestrators and dem dey prosecute dem.
"Make I send clear message from Gombe," Amupitan talk, warning say anybody wey threaten, intimidate or harm INEC staff or NYSC members go dey hunted down and brought to justice.
He talk say INEC go soon hold National Election Security Conference for Abuja to finalise state-specific security protocols for high-risk areas.
North-East get 13,965,475 registered voters, about 13.51 per cent of the national register of more than 103 million. Bauchi get the highest number for the zone with 3,012,547, followed by Borno (2,765,165), Adamawa (2,431,146), Taraba (2,254,380), Gombe (1,768,566) and Yobe (1,733,671).
Presidential and National Assembly elections go hold on Saturday, 16 January 2027, while governorship and state assembly elections go hold on Saturday, 6 February 2027.
Gombe Resident Electoral Commissioner Alhaji Umar Muktar Gajiram, wey talk for North-East commissioners, talk say the zone don prepare well and dem commit to make sure no voter dey disenfranchised.
Kaduna worry over PVCs and tech
For Kaduna, INEC list electoral violence, conflict, voting disruptions, logistics problems, technology failures and low collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) as risks to the 2027 vote.
The commission talk say only 61,494 PVCs don dey collected for the state as of 28 October 2026 — 12,741 old cards and 48,753 newly printed ones — while more than 100,000 remain uncollected.
Abba Yahaya, the commission administrative secretary and acting Resident Electoral Commissioner for Kaduna, talk for Electoral Risk Management sensitisation workshop on Thursday. He urge electoral officers to talk frank about risks for dia local government areas, including places wey get history of election violence.
"The elections no far," Yahaya talk, adding say anything wey person see coming must plan for now, not on the eve of the elections.
He call for stronger collaboration among INEC, security agencies, National Orientation Agency and media, talk say peaceful and credible elections na shared responsibility.
Separately, former chairman of Okene Local Government for Kogi State, Alhaji Isa Omolori, urge violence-free, issue-based campaigns ahead of 2027, especially for Kogi Central senatorial seat. The octogenarian talk say Nigerians deserve jobs, education, healthcare, roads, agriculture and security, and say the seat "must be won at the ballot box, not through thuggery, intimidation or the barrel of a gun".
Wetin go happen next
INEC plan to hold national security conference for Abuja, where protocols for high-risk states go dey finalised. Dem also dey urge voters for Kaduna and elsewhere to pick up dia PVCs before the January 2027 presidential vote.
