The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) announced on Sunday that it will summon Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and Musiliu Akinsanya—better known as MC Oluomo, chairman of the Lagos State Parks Management Committee—for questioning over their alleged inciting remarks during the 2023 general election. Reports indicate that, a day before the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25, Bello ordered bulldozers to demarcate a road linking Kogi Central Senatorial District, a move seen as an attempt to block Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials from delivering election materials to the stronghold of his rival, Peoples Democratic Party candidate Natasha Akpoti‑Uduaghan. MC Oluomo, meanwhile, was accused of warning Igbo residents in Lagos to stay indoors unless they voted for Governor Babajide Sanwo‑Olu and the All Progressives Congress, a claim he has denied.
In response, NHRC Executive Secretary Tony Ojukwu told journalists that both Bello and MC Oluomo would be invited for interrogation. “We are monitoring cyberspace to track hate speech and cyber‑bullying, which is a key source of our information,” Ojukwu said. He added that the Lagos State Police Commissioner had confirmed an investigation into Oluomo’s statements, but that would not impede the Commission’s mandate. Ojukwu also noted that the NHRC deployed 600 human‑rights monitors across all 36 states for the governorship and House of Assembly elections. Their preliminary report, based on monitoring more than 1,300 polling units and complaints received in the Human Rights Situation Room, highlighted issues such as law‑enforcement conduct, hate speech, election‑related sexual and gender‑based violence, and vote‑buying.
Ojukwu stressed that the pre‑election environment was fraught with tension, citing threats from various political parties and supporters. Ethnic division and hate speech were widespread in states including Lagos, Enugu, Kano, Kaduna and Rivers, prompting the NHRC to issue an “Advisory on Hate Speech Based on Ethnic and Religious Sentiments and the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria” on March 16, 2023. He noted that threats of violence against opposition supporters—sometimes involving traditional institutions, schools and public servants—were reported in Lagos, Enugu, Ebonyi and other states. The advisory outlined concerns and recommended actions for relevant agencies before, during, and after the elections.
Voter turnout for the governorship and House of Assembly elections was markedly lower than for the February presidential and National Assembly polls, especially in Niger, Kwara, Benue, Kogi and most southeastern states. The NHRC’s monthly Review Forum warned that irregularities in the presidential election could fuel voter apathy, and that pre‑election threats of violence likely contributed to the low turnout. Monitors recorded incidents of violence in 16 % of the polling units observed, including assaults, vandalism, destruction of election materials, and attacks on INEC officials. Notable incidents included hoodlums stealing BVAS devices in Rivers State, the abduction of INEC officials in Imo’s Isu LGA, attacks in Onitsha (Anambra), and a fatal clash in Rogo Ward, Kano State.
Disruptions were also reported in Bayelsa’s Ogbia Constituency 2, where elections could not be held in four wards and 94 polling units, and in Enugu East LGA, where ballot boxes were snatched. The NHRC expressed grave concern over the attack on the ARISE News crew at Elegushi Palace and called on law‑enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators. Additional reports included killings of thugs in Lagos, Katsina and Benue, and the murder of Labour Party agents in Lagos. The Commission warned that elections are not a battlefield and that no lives should be lost in the process.
Voter suppression was noted in 11 % of monitored areas, with 32 polling units showing results that did not match the number of accredited voters, suggesting possible irregularities. In Lagos, there were reports of disenfranchisement based on ethnicity and perceived political allegiance, a trend the NHRC said must be addressed. Vote‑buying was observed in 14 % of monitored polling units, totaling 192 incidents across Imo, Zamfara, Cross River and Kano states. High‑profile arrests included the Managing Director of Kano Line at a Masaka polling unit and operatives from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Ogun and Kaduna states, respectively. The NHRC pledged to investigate these incidents further to protect voters’ rights.
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