2027: How we will curb election violence — INEC

By Omeiza Ajayi The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has unveiled an intelligence-led security framework to curb violence ahead of the 2027 General Election, vowing to hunt down anyone who threatens its ad-hoc staff, National Youth Service Corps NYSC members or permanent personnel. INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan SAN, disclosed this in Gombe on Tuesday while declaring open the North-East Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 General Election. The Commission in its daily bulletin said it was shifting from reactive, election-day deployments to a framework designed to protect voters, personnel and electoral materials before any ballot paper is moved.

INEC said its collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC, the Department of State Services DSS, the Armed Forces and other paramilitary agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security ICCES has, according to him, been fundamentally restructured. The new framework, which the Commission terms the “ICCES Tentacle,” extends inter-agency security coordination from national and state headquarters directly down to the most remote Local Government Areas and Registration Area Centres. Amupitan told the gathering that no election, however well planned administratively, could be deemed credible if voters, election personnel and observers operate under physical threat or fear of violence. He explained that the framework rests on three pillars, the first being “Map and Mitigate. ” Under it, the Commission will use Electoral Risk Management (ERM) tools to identify security flashpoints, seasonal threat factors and local vulnerabilities early, so that security agencies can deploy proactive measures long…