Nigeria Insecurity: Over 5,200 Killed in Five Months, Threatening 2027 Elections
Barely seven months to the 2027 elections in Nigeria, a wave of insecurity is casting a shadow over preparations for what should be a defining moment in the country’s democracy, 33 years after the historic June 12 polls.
As reported on Monday, June 15, by Vanguard, between January and May 2026 alone, about 5,272 Nigerians have been killed in violence-related incidents. The newspaper cited media reports.
Insecurity Casts Shadow Over 2027 Election
According to the 15th Report on Violence in Nigeria, released by Nigeria Watch and compiled by Dr Vitus Nwankwo Ukoji with support from Dr Abiola Victoria Ayodokun, a total of 222,137 Nigerians have been killed in 46,182 violent incidents across the 36 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) between 2006 and 2025. The report identified insurgency, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and counter-operations by security agencies as the leading drivers of violence across the country in 2025.
As the countdown to the 2027 elections intensifies, a growing consensus across multiple fronts, including the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (INEC), the police high command, the human rights community, and civil society, is clear: Nigeria cannot afford to treat security and electoral processes as separate issues.
Expert Laments Nigeria's Security Crisis
Reacting to the development, a security analyst, Lekan Jackson-Ojo, described the situation as the worst insecurity crisis in Nigeria’s history. The Punch quoted Jackson-Ojo as saying: “This is the highest level of insecurity in the military and political history of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is an indirect pronouncement that Nigeria is an unsafe territory now. We are having a battered economy, and there is no economy anywhere in the world that thrives under insecurity.”
Furthermore, Jackson-Ojo lamented what he described as the political elite’s preoccupation with electoral activities rather than security challenges. He stressed: “What preoccupies our political class is campaign, campaign, campaign and campaign. This is a sad situation.”
Nigeria to Include VDM in Counterterrorism Operations
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Christopher Musa, the minister of defence, said the current administration is making deliberate efforts to include VDM and selected social media influencers in military operations across conflict-affected regions of Nigeria, enabling them to gain firsthand insight into the challenges and realities faced by troops on the frontlines. The minister disclosed this at the Nigerian People’s Strategic Conference (NPSC) and Defence Exhibition 2026 held in Abuja, where he argued that contemporary security challenges can no longer be addressed through military operations alone. General Musa emphasised that terrorism has become an increasingly complex threat requiring collective national action.
