2027: Keyamo warns against violence in protecting votes

File: Minister for Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has warned Nigerians against taking up arms under the guise of protecting their votes during the 2027 general elections.

PUNCH Online reports that Keyamo’s warning comes as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the Independent National Electoral Commission scheduled to hold the Presidential and National Assembly elections on January 16, 2027, and the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections on February 6, 2027.

The minister’s reference was to comments made by former President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the 2019 general elections, when Buhari warned against ballot-box snatching and electoral violence.

Keyamo, in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, alleged that some politicians were encouraging citizens and thugs to engage in violence while sending their own children abroad to safety.

“After safely ferrying their children abroad, some unscrupulous politicians are encouraging hapless citizens and thugs to take up weapons to kill one another under the pretext of ‘protecting their votes’.

“That’s fine. Let me reiterate what late President Buhari said pre-2019 election (which I supported and I still support): when you resort to self-help, and you take up dangerous weapons in the guise of ‘protecting your votes’, and you attack anybody, it is lawful and legitimate for law enforcement agents to ‘neutralise’ you or simply ‘put you down’ in the course of their duty.

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“And the children of the politicians will be watching your foolishness from their safe haven somewhere in the world. Having been forewarned, you can then go ahead and exercise your options. CHIKENA”, Keyamo’s statement read.

PUNCH Online reports that speaking at an emergency meeting of the All Progressives Congress caucus in February 2019, Buhari stated that security agencies had been instructed to deal ruthlessly with anyone who attempted to snatch ballot boxes or disrupt the voting process, adding that such an act could be the person’s “last unlawful action.”

The comments generated controversy at the time, with opposition figures and some lawyers criticising the language as a threat to citizens, while the Presidency defended the statement as a warning to those who endangered voters and attempted to undermine elections.

Keyamo, who said he supported Buhari’s position then and still does, used his Tuesday statement to warn those contemplating violence that security agencies could respond to attacks carried out under the pretext of protecting votes.

Also, his remarks come as INEC has entered the final stages of preparations for the 2027 elections.

The commission has also urged political parties and other stakeholders to respect the electoral framework and promote peaceful elections, with INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, recently stressing the need for political actors to avoid intimidation and electoral violence.