• Musa: Come out, vote for whoever you want
• Ariwoola urges early response to threats
• INEC targets difficult terrain, security hotspots in election logistics plan
• Amupitan: INEC has completed 10 of 14 activities for 2027 polls

With 90 days to go, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has commenced security assessments and threat analysis to identify potential flashpoints and emerging threats ahead of the 2027 general elections, as part of efforts to prevent electoral violence and reduce political tensions. The Force said the ongoing exercise would help determine areas requiring additional personnel and operational attention before, during and after the polls.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, DIG Shehu Nadada, disclosed this on Thursday when the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development’s Council of the Wise paid a courtesy visit to the police leadership in Abuja.

Nadada, who was represented by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Counter-Terrorism Operations at the Force Headquarters, AIG Ako Gabriel, said the police were implementing measures to strengthen election security, including personnel training, threat assessment and engagement with political actors and other stakeholders.

Earlier, Chairman of the Council of the Wise and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, urged the police to strengthen its early warning systems and response mechanisms to prevent electoral violence.

Ariwoola, who was represented by a council member, Shuaibu Oba AbdulRaheem, said the police should monitor candidates’ utterances during campaigns at all levels and promptly caution those making inflammatory statements capable of inciting violence.

He urged the Inspector-General of Police to ensure adequate deployment of personnel to protect voters, polling centres, electoral materials and INEC officials. The council chairman stressed that police officers deployed for election duties must remain neutral and professional throughout the electoral process.

Ariwoola said the council was concerned about the violence that had characterised some previous elections, recalling that the 2011 general elections were followed by killings and destruction of property, particularly in northern Nigeria.

AS the campaigns get heated three months to the election, the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd.), has assured Nigerians of safety and the neutrality of the nation’s security agencies in the forthcoming 2027 general elections.

Musa, who stated this while addressing journalists shortly after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja on Thursday, also said that the President would soon inaugurate a set of new aircraft to show Nigerians that the issue of security is on the front burner.

He explained that the meeting with the President was to brief him on the security situation within the country in view of the coming elections. Musa, who was accompanied by heads of security agencies, said that Tinubu made it very clear he wanted free, fair, and credible elections.

“We are determined to ensure that we provide safety and security for all Nigerians. Everyone should come out and vote, vote for whoever they want.” He assured voters that they will not be intimidated.

The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled to be held on January 16, while the governorship and House of Assembly elections will be conducted on February 6.

He assured political parties, particularly those in the opposition, that security personnel would remain professional and politically neutral in the discharge of their duties. “Nobody is going to intimidate them for whatever reasons. We are all professionals, and we are fully committed,” he said.

The assurance comes amid continuing concerns over insecurity in several parts of the country and the need to prevent violence and criminal activities from undermining preparations for the 2027 general elections.

MEANWHILE, INEC has commenced moves to address logistical challenges in difficult terrain and security-threatened areas ahead of the 2027 general elections. With plans to strengthen the transportation and security of election materials across the country, the commission on Thursday inaugurated a logistics committee to develop strategies for the safe and timely movement of sensitive and non-sensitive election materials through road, air and maritime channels.

The commission appointed National Commissioner, Retired Rear Admiral Jamila Abubakar-Sadiq, as chairperson of the committee. INEC Chairman, Amupitan, who inaugurated the committee in Abuja, said effective logistics was critical to the success of elections, stressing that essential materials must reach polling units at the appointed time.

He said the committee would adopt a multi-agency approach, bringing together military and paramilitary institutions, security agencies and transport organisations to improve coordination and operational efficiency.

Amupitan said the committee’s responsibilities included assessing the logistical requirements for the 2027 elections, developing plans for the storage, distribution, deployment and retrieval of election materials, and auditing the readiness of warehouses, vehicles, airports, seaports and other transport facilities. The committee is also expected to identify logistical gaps, monitor compliance with approved schedules and develop strategies to address transportation bottlenecks, shortages and security threats.

Amupitan stressed that no Nigerian should be disenfranchised because of the late arrival of election materials, adding that early planning was essential to conducting transparent, efficient and credible elections.

Speaking, Abubakar-Sadiq described election logistics as the operational foundation of the democratic process, with direct implications for electoral integrity and public confidence. She said the committee would focus on strategic airlift and cargo planning, identifying operational bottlenecks, coordinating land and maritime transportation, and mapping difficult terrain, security-challenged areas and locations prone to crises.

As part of the arrangements, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will receive, store and distribute sensitive election materials through its nationwide branch network. The commissioner emphasised that effective cooperation among government agencies and other stakeholders would be crucial to the committee’s assignment.

The inauguration attracted INEC national commissioners, representatives of the Chief of Defence Staff and service chiefs, and officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and Nigerian Ports Authority.

Other stakeholders included representatives of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers, the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, maritime workers and other transport and security institutions.

THE INEC Chairman has further stated that the Commission has completed 10 of the 14 activities on its timetable for the 2027 general election.

Speaking in Abuja on Thursday at the flag-off of a nationwide grassroots mobilisation campaign for the 2027 general election organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Amupitan said INEC had completed the 10 activities in line with the statutory deadlines and operational benchmarks.

“To manage an enterprise of this magnitude, the commission operated under the legal framework established by the Electoral Act of 2026 and a published timetable schedule of activities,” he said,

“I am pleased to announce that, out of the 14 disputed activities provided in our timetable. The commission has successfully executed 10 major milestones, strictly adhering to legal deadlines and operational benchmarks. Some of the timelines were breached by the parliament.”

The INEC chairman said the commission had digitised the nomination of candidates by political parties through its candidate nomination portal to ensure that the names submitted to the commission matched the outcomes of party primaries. He said the portal had processed nominations for presidential and vice-presidential candidates, as well as candidates for the national assembly, governorship and state houses of assembly.

According to Amupitan, the commission had also begun physical assessments of its facilities, storage infrastructure, power arrangements and personnel across the country’s geopolitical zones. He said the commission was strengthening its logistics arrangements to ensure the timely distribution of election materials and the early commencement of voting.

He said the INEC had secured the procurement of additional bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) machines and was upgrading its cybersecurity infrastructure to protect its networks and data transmission channels against cyber threats.

Lanre Issa-Onilu, director-general of NOA, said the agency would deploy its community orientation and mobilisation officers across the 774 LGAs to mobilise voters ahead of the general election. Issa-Onilu said the campaign would focus on discouraging voter apathy, vote buying and electoral violence through community dialogues, radio programmes, local-language communication and digital platforms.

He said the agency would work with the INEC, security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations (CSOs) and community leaders to promote peaceful participation and disseminate verified electoral information.

MEANWHILE, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has called on Nigerians to reject voter apathy, vote buying and electoral violence, stressing that every eligible citizen has a responsibility to protect democracy and help shape the country’s future through peaceful participation in the 2027 general election.

Idris made the call on Thursday in Abuja at the flag-off of the National Orientation Agency’s (NOA) nationwide grassroots mobilisation campaign for the 2027 general election, held under the theme, ‘Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Future: Say No to Apathy, Vote Buying and Violence. Let’s Build a United Nigeria in 2027.’

“An election is more than a day at the polling unit. It is an opportunity for citizens to decide who represents them and to influence the direction of their communities and country. When eligible voters stay away, sell their votes or resort to violence, the entire democratic process suffers”, the Minister said.

Idris said the Federal Government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, was committed to strengthening Nigeria’s democratic process. “President Tinubu signed the Electoral Act 2026 into law, introducing important reforms aimed at improving transparency, accountability and public confidence in the electoral process”, he said.