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2027 Elections: US observers say insecurity, violence may pose threat to its success
A US-based election observation group – International Republican Institute (IRI), has said that insecurity and political violence have been observed as major threats to the forthcoming 2027 general elections.
Speaking Friday in Abuja on what it tagged, ‘Media Advisory’, the group led by its President, Dr Daniel Twining alongside Former US Ambassador to South Africa, Jendayi Frazer and the Regional Director for Africa, IRI, Janai Cox, called on political leaders and parties to shun rhetoric that threatens opponents, incites violence or portrays electoral defeat as inherently illegitimate.
Worried that persistent insecurity and political violence, erode confidence in the electoral process and depresses voters’ participation, the group held that where voters, candidates and observers cannot participate without fear of violence or intimidation, technical improvements and legal safeguards have only limited effect.
“This challenge is unfolding within a political landscape that has transformed considerably since 2023”, the group said.
Acknowledging existence of electoral reforms, IRI is skeptical about the practicability of the new legal framework as public confidence remains one of the most consequential challenges facing the process.
Stressing that its mission in Nigeria is to provide an independent and impartial assessment of the country’s electoral processes, offering key findings and recommendations that will help stakeholders strengthen electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections, it said the country’s experience of 2023 has continued to shape perceptions of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), particularly with respect to results, transmission and collation.
It held that in the 2027 outing, electoral credibility will depend not only on administrative capacity but also on the transparency of institutional authority.
Twining in his remarks, said that IRI’s interest is to support Nigerians in their ambition of peacefully exercising their democratic rights and their democratic voice in an election that is peaceful, inclusive, credible and seen as legitimate in the eyes of the public.”
He described the 2027 elections as critical, not only for the country but also for Africa considering that its political trajectory carries significance beyond its borders.
“The resilience of Nigeria’s institutions and the quality of electoral competition carry not only national but also regional and global implications.
“Our delegation approached this assessment with a straightforward objective to identify practical steps that can strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process well before voters go to the polls in 2027.
“Over the course of the mission, we met with more than 65 stakeholders, whom we thank for their cooperation and insights. Our findings also draw on IRI’s observation of the Ekiti and Osun off cycle gubernatorial elections, and the work of long-term analysts deployed in the advance of this delegation.”
Adding: “These findings are therefore not abstract prescriptions. They reflect concerns raised across the electoral landscape and lessons drawn from previous elections. At the heart of these recommendations is public confidence. Credibility is not produced by law, technology or institutions alone. It is built when Nigerians believe they can vote without fear, that their choice will be respected and that power cannot be used to override the will of the voter”, the institute said.
Ahead of the 2027 election, the group therefore urged INEC to run a robust stress test of its systems and mock elections to troubleshoot potential challenges with the BVAS and IREv; communicate operational decisions, procedural changes and contingency measures through consistent and authoritative channels and collaborate with security personnel to protect ballot secrecy on election day.
“INEC and security agencies should prioritize the security of election facilities, protect participants, materials, party agents and observer groups without restricting lawful access. Attention should be given to preventing intimidation and securing the movement of results at collation centers.”
The group also recommended that political parties should hold their party officials, agents and supporters accountable for vote buying and voter inducement while national and state leadership should communicate clear expectations throughout party structures and ensure they are enforced down to local and polling unit levels, including sanctions, fines and prosecution of civil and criminal offenses.
“Significant enforcement actions would help demonstrate that electoral offenses, especially violence are unacceptable at all levels. Political parties should train and supervise their party agents on lawful conduct, ballot secrecy and results verification. Political parties should take responsibility for the conduct of their agents and promptly address violations committed on election day.
“INEC should improve the accessibility of polling units for persons with disabilities and build on lessons learnt from the 2023 elections by updating the Internally Displaced Persons voting framework.
“Political parties and candidates should also refrain from producing or amplifying false information, manipulated electoral materials or Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated impersonations that could undermine confidence or inflame tensions”, it said.
Japa on reverse lane as the United States Department of Homeland Security, DHS, has updated its list of Nigerians facing removal from the country, reducing the number to 112 and publishing their names and photographs online.
The latest list features Nigerians from different parts of the country and was published through the DHS official website.
Among those listed are Cletus Onyali, Olaolu Alabi, Marcus Unigwe, Mkpouto Etukudoh, Blessing Uchanma, Olaniyi Ojikutu, Richard Ugbah, Oluwamuyiwa Olawoye, Anthony Asanya and Ebele Agbasiele
Others identified on the list include Izuchukwu Okoye, Olufemi Olufisayo Olutiola, Abiemwense Obanor, Chibuzo Nwaonu, Oluchi Jennifer Chimdimma Chime, Ifeanyi Okoro, Oluwaseun Kassim, Quazeem Adeyinka and Talatu Dada.
The complete list contains 112 names, with the photographs and details of the other individuals available through the DHS online portal.
The publication comes amid stepped-up immigration enforcement by the US government, particularly involving undocumented immigrants and individuals with outstanding removal orders.
It also comes against the backdrop of efforts by US authorities to obtain increased cooperation from foreign governments in receiving their nationals who have been ordered to leave the United States.
Nigeria has previously faced pressure from the US over the repatriation of its nationals subject to deportation.
The updated publication provides public access to the identities and photographs of the Nigerians currently identified by DHS for removal from the United States.
The Department of State Services, DSS, on Thursday re-arraigned five men accused of complicity in the May 15 kidnap of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State and the subsequent killing of two of the victims.
They were arraigned on a seven-count amended charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2026, filed by the DSS on behalf of the Federal Government.
The defendants, accused of being members of the Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) terrorist group, are Mahmud Muhammad (aka Abu Bara’a, Abbas Mukhtar); Abubakar Abbas (aka Isah Adam, Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri); Abdulrazak Umar (aka Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid); Yunusa Musa (aka Abu Yunusa Bin Musa); and Shamsu Adamu Sani (aka Abu Itisar).
All five defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them by the Registrar of the court.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who led the DSS legal team, applied for the immediate trial of the defendants in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
He also applied for the names of witnesses lined up to testify in the trial to be shielded and for them to be permitted to wear masks to ensure their protection.
Following no objection from counsel to the defendants, Bala Dakum, Justice Salim Ibrahim granted the request of the DSS counsel.
At the time of filing this report, arrangements for the full-scale trial were being put in place.
LAGOS — A post-mortem examination conducted by the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has confirmed that 20-year-old journalist Pelumi Onifade died from a penetrating firearm injury to the abdomen.
The finding is contained in a six-page autopsy report dated July 30, 2026, and submitted to the Lagos State Coroner’s Court investigating the circumstances surrounding the young journalist’s death during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.
According to the report, Onifade died from massive haemoperitoneum, a severe accumulation of blood in the abdominal cavity, caused by a high-velocity projectile that penetrated his abdomen.
The forensic finding provides medical evidence establishing a gunshot injury as the cause of death, while the circumstances surrounding who fired the shot and the events that followed remain matters before the coroner’s proceedings.
How Onifade Died
Onifade was a 200-level History student of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) and worked as an intern reporter with Gboah TV, a Lagos-based online news platform.
On October 24, 2020, during the nationwide #EndSARS protests against police brutality, he was assigned to cover an attempted looting at a government palliative storage facility in the Abattoir area of Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos.
According to accounts presented by his family and colleagues, Onifade was wearing a press jacket and carrying reporting equipment when officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force opened fire while attempting to disperse the crowd.
He was reportedly struck by a bullet and subsequently taken away in a police van, commonly referred to as a Black Maria.
A colleague who was with him at the scene reportedly attempted to identify him as a journalist and explain that he was carrying camera equipment, but those efforts were unsuccessful.
Onifade was not seen alive again after that incident.
Family Searched Police Stations, Hospitals
Following his disappearance, his family and colleagues searched police stations, detention facilities and hospitals across Lagos in an attempt to establish his whereabouts.
According to the family, police authorities denied having him in custody.
Six days later, on October 30, 2020, the family located his body at the mortuary of Ikorodu General Hospital, where it had been registered as a “brought-in-dead” case under body number 1385.
The discovery triggered years of demands for an independent investigation into how the young journalist died and how his remains ended up in the mortuary.
DNA Test Identified the Body
The identity of the body was subsequently confirmed through forensic DNA testing.
Results from the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre established a match between the unidentified body bearing tag number 1385 and reference samples obtained from Onifade’s parents.
The DNA confirmation provided a crucial breakthrough after years of uncertainty surrounding the whereabouts and identity of the missing journalist.
Court Ordered Coroner’s Inquest
The search for accountability later moved into the courts.
In July 2024, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the Lagos State Government and the police to conduct a coroner’s inquest into Onifade’s death.
The objective of the inquest is to establish the circumstances surrounding his death and determine the facts surrounding the actions of the security personnel involved.
The ongoing proceedings before the Lagos State Coroner’s Court are being presided over by Magistrate Temitope Oladele.
Following the submission of the post-mortem report, the court has directed key witnesses, including police personnel who were on duty in the Oko-Oba area on October 24, 2020, to appear and testify.
Rights Groups Demand Accountability
Media Rights Agenda (MRA), which has supported the Onifade family in its legal efforts, has described the post-mortem findings as significant evidence in the case.
Rights activists, journalist unions, and the deceased’s family continue to demand the public prosecution of the police officers who fired the shot and those who supervised the deployment during the Lagos #EndSARS demonstrations.
Japa on reverse lane as US releases names, photos of 112 Nigerians on deportation list
Oyo kidnap: Five defendants plead not guilty to seven count charges
Autopsy Confirms #EndSARS Journalist Pelumi Onifade Died From Gunshot Wound
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