2027: Counting votes, not corpses

Résumé détaillé

Ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections, concerns are rising over political violence, with 27 deaths reported in recent incidents, threatening free participation Read More:…

Last week, I examined the threat that artificial intelligence poses to the credibility of Nigeria’s 2027 elections. My concern was that technology could be deployed to manufacture voters, fabricate statements, clone voices and circulate false election results. I argued that the Independent National Electoral Commission, political parties, the media and Nigerians must prepare for these emerging threats.

This week, I am turning my attention to another threat. Unlike artificial intelligence, it is neither new nor sophisticated. It does not require special software, expensive computers or technological expertise. It requires only desperate politicians, willing thugs and, sometimes, security agencies that look the other way. I am talking about political violence.

While artificial intelligence threatens to manipulate what Nigerians see and believe, political violence threatens their freedom to participate in elections. And unlike a fake photograph or fabricated video, a life lost to political violence cannot be restored by a correction, a fact-check or an apology.

The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room recently raised concerns over reports of 27 deaths in 20 election-related incidents between January and October 2026. The general elections are still months away, yet allegations of intimidation, attacks and politically motivated violence are already raising concerns.

How many more Nigerians must die before political actors agree that elections are contests, not wars? Why should supporting a candidate or attending a political rally put anybody’s life at risk? What does it say about democracy when citizens must calculate the security risks of expressing their political preferences? Nigeria should not have to count corpses before counting votes.

Whenever election-related violence breaks out, those most likely to suffer are often not the politicians seeking office.

Politicians may lose elections and return to their comfortable homes to prepare for another electoral contest, but…

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