ICPC To Deploy Armed Officers During 2027 General Elections

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has disclosed plans to deploy armed personnel to monitor the 2027 general elections.

The commission said it had trained some of its personnel to carry arms and would deploy them during the elections to strengthen its monitoring activities.

The Director of Public Education at ICPC, Demola Bakare, disclosed this during a virtual National Stakeholders Workshop on the 2027 General Election, Naija News reports.

The workshop was organised by Praxis in partnership with the Human Resources Development Centre, University of Lagos.

The online programme, which will run for three Thursdays in November, focused on strategies for identifying, monitoring and reporting corruption to protect the integrity of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking at the event, Bakare explained that election monitoring should begin several months before the actual voting day.

He said monitors must understand Nigeria’s electoral and criminal laws before going into the field to carry out their duties.

According to him, elections are often affected by corruption because they involve political competition, adding that electoral fraud becomes more common when people involved in the process engage in such practices without fear of punishment.

“Elections usually become corrupt because it is a political competition. Electoral fraud thrives when everyone engages in it,” he said.

Bakare stressed that punishing those found guilty of electoral offences would discourage others from engaging in similar activities.

He noted that although elections allow citizens to choose their leaders and hold them accountable, conducting elections alone does not guarantee good democratic governance.

The ICPC director listed bribery, vote buying, misuse of public resources, intimidation, procurement fraud and manipulation of electoral records as some of the practices capable of undermining the credibility of elections.

He warned that such activities could turn elections into a means of protecting the interests of powerful politicians rather than allowing citizens to freely decide who governs them.

Bakare also urged election monitors to remain neutral and avoid taking sides with any political party or candidate.

He said monitors must operate within the limits of the law and ensure their safety while carrying out their assignments.

He further advised them to protect the evidence gathered during election monitoring, noting that such materials must be properly handled to make them useful in court when necessary.

The director added that monitors should submit reports containing clear and actionable facts, follow up on their findings and send them to the appropriate authorities for necessary action.

Bakare also made reference to the 1993 presidential election, which is still widely discussed in Nigeria’s electoral history.

He said the continued reference to the election as a standard for credible polls shows that the country can still achieve a similar level of electoral success.

He called on Nigerians to take an active role in ensuring that the 2027 general elections are conducted in a credible and transparent manner.