SERAP Gives INEC Chairman Seven Days To Prosecute Suspects Of Campaign Violence
By Sunday Etuka
Nigeria’s election umpire is under pressure to move from arrests to courtrooms. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked Professor Joash Amupitan, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to obtain police case files on suspects held over electoral and political violence and to prosecute them within seven days, or face legal action.
In a letter dated 14 November 2026 and signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said INEC should get the case files and investigation materials on everyone arrested since campaigns for the 2027 general elections began, and prosecute those against whom the evidence establishes offences under the Electoral Act 2026.
The letter followed the latest reported attack on members and supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) at a town hall meeting in Oregun, Lagos, on 12 November 2026.
SERAP asked Amupitan to direct INEC’s legal officers, or legal practitioners appointed by the Commission, to review the case files promptly and prosecute suspects already arrested.
It also urged him to press the Police to intensify and conclude investigations into other reported incidents, arrest the remaining suspects and their sponsors, and send the case files and evidence to INEC for prosecution.
The organisation further asked him to use INEC’s powers under section 83 of the Electoral Act 2026 to demand explanations from political parties suspected of involvement in or encouraging prohibited conduct, and to fine any party that fails to respond or comply with a lawful directive.
SERAP said prosecution is essential not only to punish offenders but also to deter future violations and prevent the normalisation of political violence. It said INEC has a clear statutory duty to prosecute electoral offences regardless of the political affiliation or position of those involved, and that effective prosecutions would show that no individual, party, candidate or group is above the law.
If it does not hear from Amupitan within seven days of receiving or publishing the letter, SERAP said it would take all appropriate legal action to compel him and INEC to carry out their statutory responsibilities.
SERAP said that since campaigns began on 19 August 2026, there have been attacks on political convoys and party secretariats, disruption of rallies and meetings, and intimidation of opponents and supporters, reportedly causing deaths, injuries, property destruction and arrests. Incidents it listed include:
8 September: obstruction of the convoy of NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi in Benue State. 12 September: attack on an NDC ward meeting and a separate PDP rally in Enugu State. 6 October: attack on the convoy of ADC senatorial candidate Herberta Okonofua in Edo State. 10 October: attacks on NDC supporters during the campaign of governorship candidate Chinyeaka Ohaa in Enugu State, after which one supporter died.
14 October: attack on supporters of Accord governorship candidate Oriyomi Hamzat during a procession in Ibadan, leaving one person dead. 22 October: attack on the convoy of NDC candidate Rollins Offia-Nwali in Ebonyi State, reportedly leaving one person dead and three injured. 30 October: attack on AAC presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore and his team in Ado-Ekiti.
4 November: attack on Peter Obi’s convoy in Calabar.
7 November: an NDC procession in Asaba reportedly left one person dead and five injured.
12 November: suspected armed men disrupted an NDC town hall meeting in Lagos, where journalist Samuel Adebanjo was reportedly assaulted and his equipment seized.
SERAP acknowledged the arrests and investigative steps taken by the Police but said arrests alone are not enough to secure accountability. It said those who organise, finance, direct or sponsor political violence must not escape justice, and warned that failure to prosecute could encourage more attacks, deepen impunity and create a climate of fear that keeps opposition parties from meeting, candidates from reaching voters and journalists from reporting.
The group pointed to several provisions of the Electoral Act 2026. Section 96(5) bars parties, aspirants and candidates from retaining, organising, training or equipping anyone to use physical force or coercion for a political objective, while section 96(6) bars them from using armed private security organisations or similar groups during campaigns, rallies, processions or elections.
Sections 96(7) and (8) set penalties for violations and for aiding or abetting them. Section 97 prohibits threatening anyone with force or violence during a campaign, and section 120 criminalises disorderly conduct meant to disrupt political meetings, as well as possession of offensive weapons or missiles at such meetings.
Crucially, SERAP noted, section 148(2) provides that prosecutions under the Act are to be handled by INEC’s legal officers or practitioners the Commission appoints. Sections 150 and 151 allow INEC to delegate its functions and issue regulations and guidelines.
SERAP accepted that the Police carry primary responsibility for investigation, arrests and gathering evidence, but said that division of labour must not leave a gap in accountability, and that INEC should proactively obtain police reports and case files and ensure prosecutions follow where evidence is sufficient.
It also grounded its demand in the 1999 Constitution (as amended), including section 14(2)(c) on citizens’ participation in government, sections 39 and 40 on expression, assembly and association, and section 42 on discrimination, as well as Articles 2, 19, 21, 22 and 25 of the ICCPR and Articles 1, 9, 10, 11 and 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
