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The European Union (EU) has raised alarm over escalating reports of election-related violence, hate speech, and political intimidation in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Addressing the opening session of the 2026 Civil Society and Human Rights Defenders Forum in Abuja, the EU Ambassador and Head of Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, warned that such incidents erode democratic progress and deter citizens from participating fully in the electoral process.
“Free civic and political spaces also help hold leaders and institutions accountable by enabling CSOs and active citizens to monitor election administration, track campaign promises and challenge government policies. By enabling free association and assembly, robust civic and political spaces prevent authorities from backsliding or from manipulating rules,” Mignot stated.
Mignot emphasized that open forums, independent media, peaceful assembly, and active civil society organizations are vital to ensuring credibility and public confidence.
He reiterated the EU’s commitment to supporting key Nigerian institutions, including the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), to foster a free, fair, and credible electoral environment without interfering in domestic politics.
The EU’s warning comes amid a series of violent incidents across multiple states and mounting concern from domestic monitoring bodies. In Katsina State, supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) traveling to a campaign flag-off in Funtua were attacked along the Yashi-Funtua route, leaving one female passenger injured and resulting in 14 police arrests.
Similarly, in Cross River State, the convoy of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi was targeted in Calabar, damaging vehicles and leading to the arrest of a suspect. Violence also erupted in Delta State, where an attack on an NDC political procession and rally along Nnebisi Road in Asaba left one person dead and five others injured.
