INEC Has Put A Price On What Politicians Are Allowed To Say
Abuja · Monday 7 September 2026
The Independent National Electoral Commission has warned that politicians who cross the line from argument into threats, incitement or abusive campaigning face a fine of up to N5 million and twelve months in prison. Parties that fail to control their people face N10 million for a first offence and N2 million for each one after that.
The police have said separately that they will treat incitement as what it already is, which is a crime.
The penalties, as they stand
| Who | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Candidate, on conviction | Up to N5m, or 12 months, or both |
| Political party, first offence | N10m |
| Political party, each subsequent offence | N2m |
Section 96(7) of the Electoral Act, as cited by INEC.
None of this is new law
Section 96 has been on the books through two general elections. The Code of Conduct for Political Parties has been in force even longer. What INEC announced this weekend is not a new rule, it is a statement of intent to use an old one.
Nigeria has never had a shortage of electoral law. It has had a shortage of convictions.
Where the line sits
INEC's framing is that rhetoric becomes electoral intimidation when it stops being political argument and starts being a threat, a coercion, or an attempt to set one ethnic, religious or regional group against another. That is a workable definition and it is also a subjective one, which is where the difficulty starts.
Calling an opponent incompetent is argument. Telling a community that another community will take their land if they vote a certain way is the thing the section exists for. Most of what gets said at Nigerian rallies sits somewhere between those two, and the commission will have to decide which side of the line each case falls on while both sides accuse it of bias.
The test to watch for
The first query INEC issues will tell you almost everything. If it goes to a small party or a fringe candidate, this is a message. If it goes to a named figure inside a major party with a serious chance of winning something, it is enforcement.
The campaign period runs for months yet. There will be no shortage of material.
Reporting: Vanguard, Daily Post, Sahara Reporters and INEC's own briefing.
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