By Dayo Johnson, Regional Editor, South West
Barely three months to the 2027 general elections, fear has gripped Nigerians. Political thuggery has taken the centre stage. Attacks, threats and intimidation of opponents and disruptions of political gatherings increasingly dominate the political space. The country has a long history of political violence, dating back to the First Republic.
Read Also: 37 Niger Miners Tragedy: Blood, ‘foam’ in their mouths, burns on body – Governor
The crisis and violence that characterised that period eventually contributed to the military takeover in 1966. The Second Republic also witnessed political tension and violence before it was truncated by another military coup in 1983. Since the return to democratic rule in 1999, Nigeria has held several elections, but incidents of intimidation and violence have continued to surface.
The 2023 general elections, for instance, were marked by reports of threats and intimidation in some parts of the country. In some areas, political thugs were accused of restricting voters and attempting to influence who could access polling units and participate in the election.
Recent incidents have once again brought the issue to the fore, with allegations of opposition political actors being prevented from entering some states and political gatherings being disrupted by suspected thugs. For a country with a history of political violence, these developments have raised questions about the safety of political campaigns and the ability of citizens to participate freely in the 2027 elections.
But electoral violence does not begin on election day. It can start much earlier through hate speech, threats, online attacks, intimidation and the recruitment of young people for political activities.
As the 2027 elections draw closer, political analysts, civil society activists, legal practitioners and other stakeholders are calling for early action to prevent violence from becoming a tool of political competition.
Timeline of political thuggery
On Saturday, August 30, 2025, suspected political thugs stormed the official inauguration of a transition committee jointly set up by opposition parties in Kaduna State attacking participants and vandalising property. The committee brought together members of an All Progressives Congress faction opposed to the state leadership alongside the Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Labour Party, and the African Democratic Congress. The launch, held in Kaduna, descended into violence when hoodlums armed with cutlasses, clubs, and stones disrupted the proceedings as several attendees were injured, and vehicles destroyed.
On Sunday, September 7, 2025, miscreants, suspected to be political thugs, invaded a rally organised by the Lagos State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), led by a former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola. The rally, held at Lion Field in Alimosho Local Council of the state, was organised to receive and welcome the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, and the party’s 2023 governorship flag bearer in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour. Shortly after the kick-off of the programme, miscreants stormed the venue and sacked all the participants. The miscreants, who were suspected to be supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, inflicted varying degrees of injuries on their victims. The miscreants went berserk, sending everyone in different directions.
On Sunday, Feb 1, 2026, a political defection ceremony in Alimosho, Lagos, was cut short after suspected thugs invaded the venue, leaving several people injured. Members of the Labour Party had gathered to join the African Democratic Congress when the disruption occurred.
On Tuesday, February 17, 2026, suspected political thugs attacked members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State at the party’s secretariat in Akure. The thugs had demanded that the party should not conduct its Ward Congress in the state. They stormed the secretariat, beat party leaders and members, seized their phones and other valuables. Several members of the party sustained injuries during the attack.
On March 15, 2026, suspected political thugs disrupted the planned opening of an ADC Secretariat in Bakassi LGA of Cross River State. The attackers stormed the venue, forcing the party supporters to flee and destroying canopies, loudspeakers, chairs and other equipment arranged for the event. A viral video showed a group of youths dismantling the event’s set up while shouting that the ADC would not be allowed to operate in the council area.
On Tuesday, March 17, 2026 chaos erupted in Bakassi, Cross River State, as suspected political thugs attacked the African Democratic Congress (ADC) secretariat opening. Canopies, loudspeakers, and chairs were destroyed, leaving supporters scattered and frightened.
On Friday March 20, 2026, suspected political thugs disrupted the maiden meeting of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Young Women Forum in Eleme Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers. The thugs stormed the venue in Alesa Eleme, Rivers, dispersed supporters and destroyed canopies, loudspeakers, chairs and other equipment. The National Coordinator of the ADC Young Women’s Forum, Ms Atosemi Oma-Uwame described the disruption as an attempt to suppress democratic engagement and opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In May, thugs attacked delegates and journalists during a factional PDP gathering in Abuja disrupting the meeting.
In July, violence erupted at an APAC Delta Central stakeholders meeting in Effurum where a protocol aide to Gov Sheriff Oborevwori was chased and assaulted with bottles and chairs.
On Saturday, July 31, 2026, members of the PDP were attacked by suspected political thugs during a rally at Ikwuator Idembia in Ezza South Local Govt Area of Ebonyi state organized for Ifeanyi Nworie, a former member of the APC who defected to the PDP. 10 PDP members were injured when the thugs stormed the venue and disrupted the gathering, assaulted participants and destroyed plastic chairs, canopies, public address system and other valuables.
Osun also witnessed escalating tensions. In July hoodlums invaded an INEC/PVC distribution centre at Okuku and carted away voter cards after shooting into the air.
Before the August 15 governorship election in Osun state, Senator Francis Fadahunsi was questioned by the police over remarks interpreted as calling for attacks on Accord members.
On Sunday August 30 2026 suspected thugs, armed with cutlasses attacked a political gathering of the Accord Party, in Kuje area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), forcing participants to flee the venue. The attackers reportedly disrupted the meeting, destroyed campaign materials, tables and chairs, while at least one person was said to have sustained injuries during the incident.
On Saturday, September 12, 2026, political thugs disrupted the political gatherings of both the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu state. The first incident occurred at the Ndiuno-Obuoffia community, where it was alleged that armed hoodlums disrupted Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) ward meeting with sporadic shooting and injured two attendees. The second occurred at St. Joseph Primary School, Agbani, where hoodlums also allegedly destroyed canopies and chairs prepared for a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rally.
On Monday, Sep 14, 2026 thugs disrupted a political meeting organised by the African Democratic Congress, ADCin Isiokpo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Suspected political thugs on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 disrupted a meeting of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Ejule, Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, sending party members and supporters fleeing for safety.
The pattern intensified in September when Gov Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi warned local govt chairmen that those who failed to deliver their councils to the APC in 2027 would be removed from office. while telling them to “deal with” anyone who attempted to disrupt APC control.
In Yobe, the situation went from bizarre to ridiculous as the state chairman of the APC, Alhaji Mohammed Gadaka urged married women in the state to divorce their husbands if their husbands stopped them from voting APC. He however later withdrew the remark following public outcry.
In the FCT, the chairman of Kuje Area Council, Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo, stirred a storm after warning residents who do not support the APC to relocate ahead of 2027.
Also in Borno, Commissioner for Youth and Sports development, Sainna Buba warned that those who refused to support the APC would be flogged and threatened to break their fingers. Buba later apologised and retracted the remarks.
In Kebbi state, Chairman of Gwandu Local Government Area, Alhaji Atiku Ahmad Mandiya told supporters in a video that anyone who spoke against Governor Nasir Idris should be dealt with.
On September 16, 2026, suspected APC thugs attacked ADC supporters in Kaduna and vandalised vehicles in the process.
The latest political thuggery was the blockade of Peter Obi in Benue state where political thugs stopped his convoy on the Makurdi-Gboko road on his way to Yelwata to commiserate with victims of the 2025 killings.
These threats and intimidation by top officials of the ruling party and the physical attacks by political thugs have therefore heighened political tensions in the polity and analysts warned that these point to a potentially violent 2027 election.
They argued that electoral violence could deepen Nigeria’s political, ethnic and regional divisions and that increasing hostility among political actors was a worrying signal that the 2027 contest could be characterized by intimidation, attacks and other forms of electoral violence if authorities failed to act early.
Don’t push Nigerians to the wall, Methodist Archbishop warns politicians
The Methodist Archbishop of Umuahia Diocese, Most Rev. Chibuzor Opoko, in his reaction to these threats, intimidation and attacks warned politicians against sponsoring thuggery and actions capable of truncating Nigeria’s democracy ahead of the 2027 elections and they should be careful not to provoke Nigerians beyond their limits.
He said: “The people keeping silent is like the silence of a graveyard, and that silence of a graveyard is a gunpowder waiting to explode. Politicians should be very careful that they do not trade the freedom of the masses for a plate of porridge.” Opoko said the Benue incident was reminiscent of a incident where the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebolo, allegedly warned Obi not to enter the state without his permission.
He questioned the priorities of political leaders, saying: “What has the Governor of Benue State done to the terrorists that have invaded his state? Villages have been sacked and people have been murdered. The only thing you could do is to stay there, keep quiet and probably allow thugs to block a former governor who was coming into the state? What are you calling for? You are calling for anarchy. What led to the disruption of the Second Republic must not happen again.
“Our politicians must be selfless. They must think first about Nigeria before their pockets. They must think about generations and not election. They must become leaders and not just politicians.
“Political leaders should stop treating Nigerians as electoral commodities by remembering them only during elections. You remember the masses only when it is time for election. You buy them rice, you give them this and that. We cannot continue like that. Let them not push the masses to the wall. When you push a man to the wall and he has no other place to go, the next thing you get is reaction. This is serious, and when such a reaction comes, nobody may be spared.”
He also challenged religious and traditional leaders, civil servants and other influential Nigerians to speak against political misconduct. “Religious leaders who are not ready to speak the truth, traditional rulers who are keeping quiet, top civil servants and politicians who have decided just to have something for their pockets and don’t care for the people — when the chips are down and there is a revolution, none of us will be spared. Even the security people you use to keep yourself safe can turn against you,” Opoko warned.
Thuggery remains serious threat to our electoral credibility — Comrade Ozobo
According to Comrade Austin Ozobo, President, Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative, “Political thuggery remains one of the most serious threats to electoral credibility in Nigeria. History shows this clearly – the violence and intimidation associated with party thugs contributed to the collapse of the First Republic, and seriously destabilized the Second Republic.
“Dealing with thuggery requires a multi-layered approach. The 1999 Constitution, Section 227, expressly prohibits the use of thugs and private armies by political parties. The Electoral Act 2022, Sections 92-97, criminalizes use of force, intimidation, and carrying of weapons at political gatherings and polling units. The challenge has not been the absence of law, but enforcement.
“Security agencies and the office of the Attorney General must ensure prompt arrest, prosecution and conviction of perpetrators, regardless of party affiliation. The act of threatening opponents with thugs is undemocratic, illegal and unacceptable. Election is a game of numbers, it tests one’s popularity and influence. I frown at the governors threatening violence and using it to fight opponents.
“Again, it is now a major concern that most electoral violence cases die after the election. There is a need to fast-track electoral offences tribunals, as recommended by the Uwais Electoral Reform Committee, to ensure that cases of thuggery, voter suppression, and threats by public officials are concluded before winners are sworn in”.
Unchecked political violence capable of truncating our democracy — Chief Mulade
Adding his Voice, Chief Sheriff Mulade, National Democratic Party, NDP, House of Representatives candidate for Warri Federal Constituency said “Preventing political thuggery from truncating Nigeria’s democracy requires structural remedies that address the root causes: systemic impunity, political patron-client networks, weak institutions, economic vulnerability, and partisan abuse of security forces.
“The collapse of the First Republic in 1966 was directly triggered by the chaotic breakdown of law and order following electoral violence and thuggery during the 1964 and 1965 elections.
“Similarly, the massive rigging, intimidation, and violence of the 1983 general elections destroyed the legitimacy of the Second Republic, paving the way for a military takeover. Allowing political violence to run unchecked today risks repeating these collapses.
Political thuggery, frontal assault on Nigeria’s constitutional order — Avbenagha
A senior lawyer, Francis Avbenagha on his part argued that, “Political thuggery is not mere political rivalry. It is a frontal assault on Nigeria’s constitutional order. When thugs in Lagos warned residents not to vote against the APC, when Peter Obi was blocked from entering Benue despite police notification, and when gunmen disrupted an NDC gathering in Enugu leaving eight persons with gunshot injuries, these were not political skirmishes. They were criminal conduct striking at the heart of the constitutional order.
“The Electoral Act 2022 criminalises the use of force, violence or restraint to compel or induce voting (section 128). The law is not deficient. Enforcement is the problem.
“INEC has admitted it cannot arrest or investigate, and months after the 2023 elections, 197 electoral offenders had not been prosecuted. That is the lacuna. The First Republic collapsed partly under electoral disputes and instability, culminating in the January 1966 coup. The Second Republic was shaken by the ’12 two-thirds’ majority controversy. Victory was often determined by money, thuggery and collusion. Today, officials in Abuja, Yobe, Ebonyi, Borno and Kebbi have threatened violence if residents fail to vote for the ruling party. A Lagos NURTW chairman threatened anyone unwilling to support the President in 2027.
“These are symptoms of institutionalised impunity. Politics in Nigeria may look like a dirty game for the hardened heart. But the law is not a spectator. The Constitution is supreme and binding on all authorities and persons. Political thuggery ended the First Republic and shook the Second. It must not truncate this dispensation. The question is not whether the law is sufficient, it is whether those charged with enforcement will act. The Constitution demands no less. The people deserve no less.”
Growing unemployment market, main supplier of political thugs — Prof Oke-Samuel
Prof. Olugbenga Oke-Samuel, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Coordinator of the Akungba Law Clinic, and Director of the AAUA Quality Assurance Unit said, “The growing unemployment market is the main supplier of political thugs. To address thuggery the society must deliberately tackle unemployment. State governments are accessing huge revenues, but this is not channelled towards creating jobs and building the capacities of the young people in skills acquisition and entrepreneurship.
“Many of the relevant training institutions like technical and vocational institutions are moribund. No amount of sermons will change the situation – an idle hand is the devil’s workshop. There must be a deliberate youth development policy that would make party vanguards and hallelujah jobs unappealing to young people.”
Nigerians will not surrender to state sponsored violence — Hon Peretei
Hon Kennedy Peretei, Ondo state chairman of NDC said, “Anybody familiar with Nigeria political history will recall that, it was the desire of the Tafawa Balewa’s Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) government to forcefully take over the Western Region that was the precursor for the collapse of the First Republic.
“In the Second Republic, Shehu Shagari’s NPN wanted to take over states opposed to the ruling party by force and through government sponsored violence, using Sunday Adewusi’s “Kill and Go” Mobile Policemen.
“The Second Republic gave way. The kind of violence being orchestrated by the APC government to muscle up opposition is a recipe for counter violence and it is a major threat to our Democracy. Interestingly, Nigerians are more enlightened than before and will not surrender their country to a small group of individuals that have practically brought “Hell” to every facet of our lives. One thing is sure come 2027, Nigerians are ready for a New Dawn no matter the intimidation or state sponsored violence”.
Nigeria has not punished political thuggery firmly enough – Angalapu
A Research Analyst at the Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD-West Africa, Dengiyefa Angalapu, said, “The threat is serious, and we are already seeing it in hate speech increasingly shaping political campaigns. It is taking new forms, including threats disguised as the defence of ethnic or religious interests. Political thuggery persists because some politicians still find it useful and rarely pay a price for sponsoring it.
“What is not adequately punished is bound to continue, and Nigeria has not punished political thuggery firmly enough. These institutions have helped prevent violence in many places, but their responses remain uneven, and accountability is particularly weak. INEC does not command the security agencies, political parties often fail to discipline their supporters, and civil society can document abuses but cannot prosecute offenders.
“Nigeria is generally more effective at deploying security personnel on election day than at securing convictions afterwards. Every credible threat or act of intimidation should lead to an investigation with a publicly traceable outcome. Investigators must follow the money and chain of command because arresting the thug while leaving the politician who recruited him untouched does not solve the problem. Nigeria does not lack laws against electoral violence; it lacks consistent consequences”.
Political status does not place a person above the law – Ajinomoh
A legal practitioner and Principal Partner of Cloudstone LP, Goodness Itopa Ajinomoh, said Nigerian laws already provide sanctions for several forms of political violence. He cited provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 which prohibit the use of force, threats and intimidation during political activities.
According to him, “Under section 97 of the newly enacted Electoral Act of 2026, threatening force or violence during a political campaign to compel someone to support or reject a candidate is an offence.
“Section 132 criminalizes threats of force, injury, damage or harm intended to influence a person’s vote. Beyond the Electoral Act, the statement could potentially constitute an offence under other criminal laws if it amounts to a specific threat, incitement or participation in a criminal act. Political status does not place a person above the law.”
Desperate politicians weaponise poverty, ignorance – Sodiq
Founder and Executive Director of The Fasasi Youth Foundation, Fasasi Sodiq, said, “Political thuggery remains a recurring issue because of desperate politicians who want to gain power by all means.
“They weaponise poverty and ignorance as strategies to recruit and manipulate both educated and uneducated, unemployed and vulnerable individuals to serve concealed political interests. Political violence also kills the drive to exercise one’s franchise; When citizens begin to believe that participating in politics could make them targets, democracy suffers.
“Any politician found to have promoted, sponsored or participated in violence before, during or after an election should face appropriate sanctions under the law and relevant electoral regulations.”
Sodiq also said the problem cannot be addressed through punishment alone. He called for greater public sensitisation, particularly among young people and vulnerable communities, on the dangers of political thuggery and the need for peaceful political participation.
Online bullying, digital intimidation new weapons in political thuggery – Nathaniel
The National President of the National Youth Association for Peaceful Coexistence and Good Governance, Comrade Isiaku Nathaniel, said, “Political thuggery thrives because of impunity and desperation. Politicians across divides — ruling and opposition alike — have at different times relied on thugs to silence dissent, intimidate voters, or disrupt rival gatherings. To highlight only one side of this reality is to be selective, and selective outrage fuels division rather than healing it.
Online bullying and digital intimidation have become new weapons in the arsenal of political thuggery.
He said social media is increasingly being used to threaten and silence people because of their political views. He also urged security agencies to act impartially and prosecute offenders, while civil society and traditional and religious leaders should help promote peaceful participation.
He further said citizens, especially young people, must refuse to be used as instruments of political violence, whether on the streets or through social media. He stressed that elections should be contests of ideas and persuasion rather than force and intimidation.
Nigerians must be free to campaign without fear – Ochogwu
The Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, IPCR, Joseph Ochogwu, said the institute was already working on electoral violence prevention ahead of 2027. Ochogwu said the institute would work with other institutions to strengthen existing efforts.
He said, “We’ll be activating our national conflict telephony system to begin to do incident reporting that is targeted at issues around electoral and political violence. And we’ll be escalating to relevant stakeholders within government and out of government to ensure that they mitigate issues around violence that is likely to happen.
“Nigeria has the laws and institutions needed to protect elections from violence. What matters now is timely and consistent action. With 2027 still ahead, political parties, security agencies, civil society and citizens have time to prevent threats from turning into violence. The goal is simple: Nigerians must be free to campaign, speak, organise and vote without fear. Elections should be decided by the people, not by intimidation or violence”.
Violence, thuggery if not checked, can truncate our democracy – Oribhabhor
The Convener of the Concerned Edo Citizens Forum (CECF) , Comtrader Roy Oribhabor said thugerry, political violence and other negative tendencies if not checked could truncate Nigeria’s democracy.
According to him, “Political thuggery in our political history has been very high, we can’t run away from that. From the First Republic to where we are now, we have experienced political thuggery. While we naturally expect that by now, after 26 years of democracy we should be able to understand the tenets of democracy, it is very unfortunate that democrats are not the ones operating the instrumentalities of our democracy.
“What is necessitating political thuggery is the inordinate ambition to grab power. They want to grab power to the detriment of the people and these are things that are strange to democratic principles. What is expected in a democracy is supposed to be based on ideology. You market your candidate based on ideology. You don’t coerce people, you don’t use force, you don’t continue to disrupt the process. I am very scared with the way violence is going now. It is because we have democracy that is why we have the opportunity to celebrate it. If violence continues that can truncate it, we all know what will happen”.
There should be stiffer penalties against offenders – Ambakaderimo
A social activist, Joseph Ambakaderimo called for a stiffer penalty against anybody that makes inflammatory statements capable of causing disaffection in the polity. Ambakaderimo charged the security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities by bringing anybody playing thuggery before, during and even after the coming elections, to justice as a deterrent to others.
“The coordinator of the South-South reawakening group, SSRG, said political thuggery has always been a part of the country’s political system from the First Republic, adding that time has come to end the menace.
“So long as we do not punish wrong doing, these things will continue and almost become malignant in our body polity. We have allowed uncouth statements to have ruled our political system for too long without a commensurate punitive measure to the offenders. We have witnessed too much of complementary statements by politicians garnished with threat directed at fellow politicians and ordinary Nigerians. This should not have any place in our politics. Thuggery is criminal and should be treated as such”.
President must call governors to order – Adima
A political activist, Mr. Blessing Adima said: “There has been no Republic where there were no violence but it has never been like what we are seeing today, because, it has now become the order of the day. It is everywhere; it is not restricted to a particular place. The problem we have here is the intolerance of the ruling party; they don’t want democracy to prevail. It is not democracy when the ruling party wants to run the show. Any time they see the opposition, they become jittery and dispatch their thugs to disrupt the activities of the opposition.
“I think it is high time the President put his feet on the ground and call the state governors to order, who I think are just trying to impress Abuja that they will not allow the opposition to campaign in their states. The only way we can curtail thuggery is for the President to show that yes, he is ready for a free, fair and credible elections. The President must call the state governors to order that they must allow the opposition to run their campaign peacefully in their respective states.”
Ruling party must call their thugs to order – Ufioma
Coordinator of Delta Democrats Forum, Mr. Ufioma Atare said the situation called for urgent attention. He said: “the trend is common and if not curtailed, it is going to aggravate into something else. I will advise the ruling party to caution their thugs because this is democracy.
“Former President Goodluck Jonathan said his ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian, so politicians should have that as a mindset. Politicians should not not risk the lives of the people because of their political ambitions. This is democracy; you either win or lose.”
Former Ondo SDP state chairman, Hon Stephen Adewale said:
“Political thuggery remains one of the darkest inheritances of Nigeria’s electoral history. It helped turn the Western Region crisis of the First Republic into a furnace of violence and returned during the Second Republic through intimidation, ballot-box seizure and organised coercion. Its present resurgence must therefore be treated as an urgent threat to constitutional government.
“The police, the Department of State Services and other security agencies must protect every citizen’s right to campaign, assemble and vote without fear. Threats against voters and political opponents should lead to immediate investigation and prosecution, regardless of the status or political affiliation of those involved.
“Political leaders should remember that violence unleashed for temporary advantage rarely remains under the control of its sponsors. If thugs determine who may campaign, enter a state or approach a polling booth, democracy will retain its name while losing its substance. The law must reach the thug, their sponsors, and the public official who provides protection. Otherwise, another generation may be forced to learn through catastrophe a lesson our history has already taught”.
Former Chief of Staff to late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Prof. Gbade Ojo:
“In my personal view, political thuggery remains one of the greatest threats to the survival and consolidation of democracy in Nigeria. It is particularly disturbing because it is not a new phenomenon.
“We witnessed its devastating consequences in the First Republic, and the Second Republic also experienced serious political violence. What should concern us today is that the same pattern appears to be resurfacing. When political thugs prevent citizens from attending rallies, intimidate voters or obstruct opposition politicians from moving freely, they are not merely committing ordinary acts of hooliganism; they are interfering with citizens’ constitutional rights and undermining the democratic process.
“The fundamental question is: why does political thuggery continue to thrive? I would say the answer is largely impunity. Where perpetrators of electoral violence are arrested but their sponsors are never identified or prosecuted, the problem will persist. We must move beyond arresting the foot soldiers and investigate those who recruit, finance and politically protect them. Security agencies also have a major responsibility. Their duty is to protect the electoral process and every citizen, irrespective of political affiliation. No political party or government should have the power to determine who is allowed to campaign or hold political meetings in a particular part of the country.
“At the same time, all political parties must obey legitimate security requirements and ensure that their activities do not deliberately provoke violence. We also need to examine the role of young people in political violence. Many young Nigerians are recruited by politicians because of unemployment, poverty and the desire for quick financial rewards. This does not excuse criminality, but it tells us that fighting thuggery also requires addressing the conditions that make young people vulnerable to political recruitment”.
Comrade Ayo Ologun spokesperson, The Osun Masterminds TOM
“The ongoing political situation in the country is not democratic in all ramifications, especially the issuance of threat against anybody’s political belief and affiliation. Parties and individuals should be free to not just campaign for votes but also express their political choices freely without any form of intimidation or harassment from anyone.
” But in our case reverse is the case, people cannot express their political choices without fear of intimidation and not just from hoodlums, but officials of government, it is dangerous for our democracy and the nation’s democratic dispensation. This is the time for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to stamp its feet and impose authority over such undemocratic activities. The commission’s recent provisions of fines for the offences of hate speeches should be fully implemented to stop complete diving into political chaos”.
Former Commissioner in Ekiti State, Lanre Ogunsuyi
“Political thuggery remains one of the greatest threats to Nigeria’s democracy. It does more than create disorder; it distorts elections, weakens institutions and erodes public trust in the political process and its outcomes. Because Nigeria’s history shows that when political competition becomes violent and institutions fail to contain it, democracy becomes vulnerable, political violence should be detected early and should be abhorred.
“Security agencies must remain neutral and protect every candidate, regardless of which party. Threats and intimidation should be investigated before they escalate into violence. Nobody should be prevented from entering any particular state because nobody owns any state, except when that person is a criminal or is suspected to be coming to cause mayhem in that state.
“Political thuggery does not merely threaten individual voters; it corrodes the institutions meant to protect them and convinces citizens that elections are contests of force rather than contests of ideas. I do not think that the President was right in his thematic speech that ‘all is fair in politics’. No.
“I would rather believe that the former president’s statement that ‘no blood of any Nigerian is worth the political ambition of any politician’ should be the maxim. Election is not war. It is just a selection of leaders. And it is transient. Wherever one is today, that tenure will end”.
Rotimi Ojomoyela; Steve Oko; Ozioruva Aliu; Shina Abubakar; Adeola Badru; Akpokona Omafuaire; Favour Ulebor; Daniel Abia & Ochuko Akuopha also contribted to this report.
Vanguard News
The post 2027: Fear grips Nigerians as political thugs begin actions that truncated 1st Republic, hurt 2nd Republic appeared first on Vanguard News.