Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has issued a stern warning to politicians and political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections, threatening heavy fines and imprisonment for anyone found guilty of using abusive, intemperate, or inflammatory language during campaigns. The warning, contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, on Sunday, September 6, 2026, comes amid growing concerns over a fresh wave of threats by political office holders against dissenting voters and opponents.
Oketola, in a telephone interview with Vanguard, clarified that campaign rhetoric crosses the legal threshold into electoral intimidation the moment it moves beyond robust partisan debate or policy critique and enters the realm of coercion, hate speech, or the threat of harm. "Under the Nigerian legal framework, rhetoric becomes punishable intimidation when it incites ethnic, religious, or regional hostility through abusive, base, or slanderous language explicitly designed to provoke violent emotions or target specific groups," Oketola said, citing Section 96 of the Electoral Act 2026.
Quoting the law directly, Oketola said: "A political campaign or slogan shall not be tainted with abusive language directly or indirectly likely to injure religious, ethnic, tribal or sectional feelings". He added that the law further provides that "abusive, intemperate, slanderous or base language, insinuations, innuendoes designed or likely to provoke violent reaction or emotions shall not be employed or used in political campaigns". According to him, campaign rhetoric transitions into outright intimidation when it threatens force or violence, whether by directly or indirectly warning voters, candidates, or electoral officials of physical harm, economic reprisal, or social ostracisation to compel or suppress support for a candidate. He stressed that political campaigns must not create an atmosphere of fear calculated to deter voter turnout or disenfranchise specific demographics.
On the penalties for offenders, Oketola disclosed that Section 96(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 prescribes severe statutory penalties. "Any candidate who commits these offences is liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of ₦5,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months," he said. He added that political parties face even stiffer sanctions: "A non-compliant political party is liable to a fine of ₦10,000,000 in the first instance, and ₦2,000,000 for each subsequent offence".
Oketola clarified that while INEC is an election management body and not a security agency, it is statutorily empowered to monitor political campaigns and enforce compliance with the Code of Conduct for Political Parties. "Beyond inter-agency security coordination, INEC is statutorily empowered to monitor political campaigns and enforce compliance with the Code of Conduct for Political Parties. The Commission can issue formal queries and sanction non-compliant parties within its administrative limits," he said. However, he insisted that electoral integrity cannot be preserved by INEC alone, describing it as a collective stakeholder duty. "The Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies have a clear duty to prevent the breakdown of law and order during political campaigns," Oketola said.
The INEC spokesman also urged the media to actively play its watchdog role by calling out purveyors of incendiary statements, while traditional and religious leaders must also wade in, using their moral authority to encourage politicians to eschew inflammatory rhetoric and avoid provoking violence in the country. The warning comes against the backdrop of a fresh wave of threats by highly placed political office holders across the country in recent weeks, with a section of Nigeria's political elite openly threatening voters, opponents and critics. In Osun State, Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi was questioned by the police following a viral video in which he was allegedly heard calling on supporters to attack members of the Accord party in Ilesa. In the Federal Capital Territory, Kuje Area Council Chairman Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo also attracted criticism after reportedly telling residents who did not support the All Progressives Congress to leave the area ahead of the 2027 election. Amnesty International Nigeria condemned the remarks as a call to violence.
As the 2027 elections draw nearer, INEC's warning serves as a stark reminder that the days of unchecked inflammatory rhetoric may be numbered. With the Electoral Act 2026 providing for hefty fines and possible jail time, politicians and parties must now think twice before deploying abusive language that could incite violence or intimidate voters. The message from INEC is clear: political campaigns should be platforms of competing ideas, not theatres of war.
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