NASS RAISES ALARM OVER RISING POLITICAL VIOLENCE, ORDERS INVESTIGATION

As political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections, the National Assembly has condemned the growing cases of political violence across the country.

While the Senate called on security agencies to arrest and prosecute individuals responsible for the attacks to serve as a deterrent to others, the House of Representatives resolved to investigate the incidents.

Speaking with Vanguard on Wednesday, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South), said the National Assembly supported President Bola Tinubu’s call for peace and national unity.

“President Bola Tinubu is preaching peace and national harmony, and the National Assembly supports Mr President on this.

“We, therefore, condemn in totality any act of political violence and urge security agents to apprehend whoever is responsible for such heinous acts,” he said.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives adopted a resolution to investigate the attacks following a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by the House Minority Leader, Fred Agbedi, and 16 other lawmakers.

The lawmakers expressed concern over reported attacks on political meetings, rallies and processions in different parts of the country.

In Katsina State, supporters of the All Progressives Congress travelling to a campaign flag-off in Funtua were reportedly attacked along the Yashi-Funtua route in October.

The incident left a female party member injured and several vehicles damaged, while the police subsequently announced the arrest of 14 suspects.

Similarly, the convoy of the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, was attacked in Calabar, Cross River State, on November 4, 2026.

The police confirmed that vehicles were damaged during the incident and announced the arrest of a suspect, while investigations continued.

On November 7, 2026, one person was killed and five others injured during an attack on a political procession and rally organised by NDC supporters along Nnebisi Road in Asaba, Delta State.

The incidents came as the National Peace Committee disclosed that it had recorded 60 election-related incidents within one month, involving violence, intimidation and threats.

Presenting the motion on behalf of the sponsors during Wednesday’s plenary, Agbedi condemned violence, intimidation, assaults and destruction of property associated with political rallies, meetings, processions and other lawful political activities, irrespective of the political parties or individuals affected.

He urged political parties, candidates and their supporters to reject inflammatory statements, discourage violence and cooperate with security agencies to maintain public peace.

Citing Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Minority Leader reminded lawmakers that Nigerians had the constitutional right to assemble freely and associate with others, including forming or belonging to political parties.

He also referenced the constitutional provision identifying the security and welfare of citizens as the primary responsibility of government, stressing the need to protect Nigerians participating in legitimate political activities.

Agbedi called on the House to invoke Section 88(1) of the Constitution, which empowers the National Assembly to investigate matters within its legislative responsibilities and examine the activities of public authorities responsible for enforcing relevant laws.

Highlighting previous incidents, he recalled the disruption of political meetings in Enugu State on September 12, 2026, during which police reportedly confirmed that two attendees were injured, while one person was allegedly killed.

He also cited an attack on an APC rally in Lafia, Nasarawa State, on November 4, 2026, where several people were reportedly injured.

The lawmaker warned that continued attacks, intimidation and destruction of property linked to political activities could lead to further casualties and undermine citizens’ participation in the electoral process.

He added that the growing atmosphere of fear could discourage Nigerians from exercising their democratic rights and weaken public confidence in the electoral process.

However, Agbedi stressed that allegations of responsibility for the attacks must be established through impartial, thorough and evidence-based investigations.

Following the debate, the House constituted an ad-hoc committee chaired by the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, to investigate the immediate and underlying causes of politically motivated violence and submit its findings within three weeks.

The committee comprises the House Leader, Minority Leader, chairmen and deputy chairmen of the House Committees on Police Affairs and National Security and Intelligence, alongside two additional members drawn from the committees.

EU pledges support for Nigeria’s electoral process

Meanwhile, the European Union has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Nigeria’s electoral process and strengthening the capacity of relevant stakeholders ahead of the 2027 general elections.

However, the EU said imposing sanctions on Nigerian political stakeholders over reported cases of electoral violence was not part of its responsibility.

The EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, stated this during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday.

Mignot questioned the expectation that international partners should impose sanctions or determine punishments for Nigerian political and institutional stakeholders over incidents of electoral violence.

He said the EU’s responsibility was to support the electoral process, strengthen stakeholders and provide platforms for discussions and recommendations rather than take over the responsibilities of Nigerian institutions.

He explained that the National Human Rights Commission, with EU support, organised an event in Abuja on Wednesday to discuss political violence and provide an opportunity for stakeholders to examine the challenges and make recommendations.

The ambassador also disclosed that the EU was supporting civil society organisations to deploy 5,500 election observers during the forthcoming elections.

He further recalled a recent collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission and civil society organisations, during which stakeholders conducted a simulation exercise on responding to misinformation, particularly content generated through artificial intelligence.

According to him, the exercise was designed to assess how stakeholders would respond to emerging threats to the electoral process.

Mignot described expectations that the EU should impose sanctions similar to those placed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine as misplaced.

He explained that the sanctions against Russia were imposed in response to an attack on another sovereign country, which also had implications for Europe, noting that such circumstances were different from internal political disputes in Nigeria.

The ambassador maintained that the EU could not impose sanctions on individuals across nearly 200 countries whenever their actions fell short of democratic standards.

He reiterated that the organisation’s role was to support Nigerian institutions and stakeholders through advice, recommendations and capacity-building initiatives rather than dictate how the country’s political affairs should be managed.