Presidential candidate of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has raised the alarm that some unnamed desperate politicians were engaging in human sacrifice to win the forthcoming 2027 elections.

The former Cross River State governor made the allegation in Abuja yesterday when the Council of the Wise of the Savannah Centre for Democracy, Diplomacy and Development, led by the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, visited him as part of its engagement with political stakeholders ahead of the next general elections.

Duke also called for a fundamental overhaul of Nigeria’s electoral system, particularly the process for appointing the leadership and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), arguing that it must be genuinely independent of the political class.

He also advocated stronger consequences for electoral violence and other actions that undermine democracy, saying that politicians would continue to take dangerous risks if they believed there were no serious consequences for their actions.

Expressing concern at what he described as the growing desperation among political actors, Duke said politicians were increasingly willing to do anything to secure political power, including resorting to practices such as human sacrifice. He warned that the development could trigger violence and plunge the country into crisis.

He wondered how low Nigerians would go before getting it right, alleging that during his tenure as governor, human body parts were discovered in the house of a council chairman and on “multiple occasions across the country,” even though it was never talked about.

Duke argued that the desperation in political contests was partly responsible for the erosion of democratic values in the country, stating that politics has been transformed from a vocation into an occupation, with many political actors willing to deploy every means possible to retain or acquire power.

Nevertheless, Ariwoola urged Duke and other presidential candidates to ensure campaigns devoid of rancour, hate speech, inflammatory statements and utterances capable of instigating violence.

According to him, the political class had, over the years, turned elections into matters of life and death, employing thuggery, hate speech, vote buying, rigging and ballot stuffing as tactics.

He further urged presidential candidates to lead their supporters in complying with INEC electoral laws and guidelines, saying such conduct was necessary to build trust and strengthen democracy.