2027 Polls: EU condemns rising violence and hate speech in Nigeria

News

By Linda Ikeji
12 November 2026, 8:39 am

The European Union (EU) has raised alarm over escalating stories of election-related violence, hate speech, and political intimidation in Nigeria forward of the 2027 common 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 residents from collaborating totally within the electoral course of.

 “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 acknowledged.

Mignot emphasised that open boards, impartial media, peaceable meeting, and lively civil society organizations are important to making sure credibility and public confidence.

He reiterated the EU’s dedication to supporting key Nigerian establishments, together with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), to foster a free, honest, and credible electoral atmosphere with out interfering in home politics.

 The EU’s warning comes amid a sequence of violent incidents throughout a number of states and mounting concern from home monitoring our bodies. In Katsina State, supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) touring to a marketing campaign flag-off in Funtua have been attacked alongside the Yashi-Funtua route, leaving one feminine passenger injured and leading to 14 police arrests.

Similarly, in Cross River State, the convoy of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi was focused in Calabar, damaging autos and resulting in the arrest of a suspect. Violence additionally erupted in Delta State, the place an assault on an NDC political procession and rally alongside Nnebisi Road in Asaba left one particular person lifeless and 5 others injured.