The Independent National Electoral Commission warned politicians and political parties against the use of abusive, inflammatory or threatening language during campaigns for the 2027 general elections.
Adedayo Oketola, the Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, issued the warning in a telephone interview on Sunday. He cited provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
Oketola stated that campaign statements become electoral intimidation when they go beyond normal political debate. He explained that such statements involve threats, hate speech, coercion or calls for violence.
He referred to Section 96 of the Electoral Act 2026. Oketola said rhetoric becomes punishable when it incites ethnic, religious or regional hostility through abusive, base or slanderous language designed to provoke violent emotions or target specific groups.
The law further states that a political campaign or slogan shall not be tainted with abusive language directly or indirectly likely to injure religious, ethnic, tribal or sectional feelings. It also bans abusive, intemperate, slanderous or base language, insinuations and innuendoes likely to provoke violent reactions.
Oketola then detailed the penalties under Section 96(7) of the Act. “Any candidate who commits these offences is liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of N5,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months,” he said.
He added that a non-compliant political party is liable to a fine of N10,000,000 in the first instance and N2,000,000 for each subsequent offence.
The media adviser stressed that protecting the integrity of the 2027 elections would require cooperation among INEC, security agencies, the media, traditional rulers and religious leaders. He described political campaigns as platforms for competing ideas rather than theatres of war.
