Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Joash Amupitan said authorities have uncovered and arrested people behind a plot targeting temporary election workers, including National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan made the remarks in Enugu during INEC’s South-East Zonal Interactive Meeting with staff and a readiness assessment for the 2027 elections.
The chairman also warned that misinformation, voter apathy and eroding public trust remain major risks to the polls.
Amupitan said the Department of State Services (DSS) uncovered the plot against the commission’s ad hoc staff, with particular concern for Youth Corps members deployed for election duties.
He said suspects had been arrested and would face prosecution soon.
According to the commission’s daily bulletin, INEC recently identified potential risks to ad hoc personnel and moved to neutralize the threat.
The commission plans to convene a security conference “very soon” to address broader election-security concerns, he said.
He further disclosed that INEC has reinvigorated and expanded its partnership with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, working with security agencies at national and state levels.
The commission is using its Election Risk Management tools to develop what he described as a robust, intelligence-driven security architecture.
The remarks come as INEC intensifies preparations for the 2027 polls, including reviews of voter-registration records and efforts to remove bottlenecks in the distribution of permanent voter cards in the South-East.
The INEC chairman identified a lingering public-trust deficit, voter apathy and the spread of false information as the commission’s greatest challenges.
He warned that a malicious fake-news post, unverified rumor or deepfake video can reach millions of screens within seconds.
He said false narratives gain traction when administrative execution falters, adding that the conduct, competence and character of field staff are either the commission’s strongest defense against fake news or its biggest catalyst.
INEC’s response, he said, would rely on proactive transparency, swift official communication and uncompromising operational precision at every polling unit.
On discipline, Amupitan said partisan leaning, administrative negligence, extortion or compromised ethics would not be tolerated under his leadership.
He reminded staff that Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026 requires electoral officers, presiding officers, returning officers and participating security officials to swear an oath of loyalty and neutrality.
“The question governing your actions must never be, ‘Who will benefit from this decision?’” he said, adding: “The question must always be, ‘What does the law require me to do?’”
