Peter Obi Warns INEC Officials, Others Involved in Election Rigging Will Go to Jail
PAY ATTENTION: Find it fast with our new search feature at Legit.ng!
- The NDC presidential candidate said INEC officials and anyone involved in rigging would face prosecution under his watch
- Peter Obi made the threat at an NDC town hall meeting in Nasarawa State on Wednesday October 28, 2026
- Obi also proposed strict education eligibility rules for candidates seeking to contest elections in Nigeria
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
Nasarawa State - Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has warned that electoral offenders will face prison sentences if he wins the 2027 presidential election.
Obi pledged that no one involved in rigging will escape accountability under his administration.
Source: UGC
As reported by Vanguard, Obi made the remarks on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at an NDC town hall meeting in Nasarawa State, where he fielded questions from party supporters on electoral integrity and plans to reform Nigeria's voting process.
Asked what the party intended to do about election rigging at the 2027 polls, the former Anambra State governor did not hold back.
"You didn't ask about what we are going to do if people rig election next year. Let me assure you, number one, this coming election, we will rig those who rig it," Obi said.
He went further to promise that rigging would become impossible if he assumed the presidency, saying his government would focus on building stronger political parties and overhauling the electoral framework from the ground up.
"And let me assure you number two, if I'm elected the President of Nigeria, nobody will rig election in this country again because the first thing we need to do is to strengthen our parties, strengthen the process," he said.
Obi targets INEC officials and certificate forgers
Obi extended his warning directly to officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), making clear that involvement in electoral fraud would carry criminal consequences.
"Any INEC official, anybody who is involved with elections under my watch that rigs elections will go to jail," he declared.
Beyond rigging, the NDC candidate also called for tougher eligibility requirements for anyone seeking to contest elections in Nigeria.
He argued that candidates should be required to show proof of attending both primary and secondary school, with the records publicly verifiable.
"Our laws will be strict. For you to contest election, you must have attended a primary school, you must have attended a secondary school and it will be visible, it will be clear," he said.
He warned that forging academic certificates to meet such requirements would result in imprisonment. "If you didn't attend any of them or forge your certificate, you go to jail," Obi said.
Rule of law at centre of Obi's 2027 pitch
Obi framed his entire position around accountability, insisting that his administration would apply the law equally regardless of a person's status or office.
"Under my watch, Nigeria must be a country that has a law, and both from the number one person to the last person must obey the rule of law," he said. "Nobody must be above the law; nobody will behave rascally."
He closed by tying the message to his broader campaign goal, saying his motivation was the desire to build a fundamentally different Nigeria.
"That's why we are doing what we are doing. We want to change Nigeria. A new Nigeria is possible, and that new Nigeria will be OK," Obi added.
Source: Instagram
APC tells Peter Obi to quit 2027 election race
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that the APC Presidential Campaign Council issued a press statement on Friday, October 9, 2026, calling on Peter Obi to honour a pledge he made about the 2027 race.
The demand followed Obi's BBC interview in which he claimed he won the 2023 presidential election despite admitting he had no evidence to back it up.
The APC council linked its call for Obi's withdrawal to financial records it said show his administration left liabilities in Anambra State.
Source: Legit.ng
