The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has warned that no Nigerian should lose their life because of political ambition, as the country prepares for the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Office of the Senate Leader, Bamidele in his Eid-el-Kabir message urged political actors to shun violence before, during and after the polls scheduled for January 16 and February 6, 2027.
“No Nigerian, whether old or young, deserves to die again because some people are seeking political offices by all means,” he said, citing data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, which shows that 1,639 Nigerians died in electoral violence between 1999 and 2023.
He listed the toll, “80 lives in 1999, 100 in 2003, 300 in 2007, 800 in 2011, 100 in 2015, 150 in 2019, and 109 in 2023, saying, “The cost of electoral violence is too much for us as a federation to bear. It must come to an end now”.
He called on all parties and candidates to play by the rules as electioneering begins, stressing that, “Regardless of our political parties, we must go into the campaign, indeed the 2027 elections, with a definite resolve that Nigeria is our collective heritage. Our activities must be conducted according to the extant laws, and no life will be lost as a result.”
Bamidele said the Eid-el-Kabir festival should not be “an annual ritual” but a time for Nigerians to recommit to peaceful co-existence.
He said the virtues of Prophet Ibrahim — faith, obedience and sacrifice — are needed “especially at a time when few rogue elements among us are pursuing an entirely different agenda.”
The Senate Leader also asked Nigerians to pray for victims of kidnapping, noting that the festival coincides with the 2026 International Children’s Day.
“We must remember all our children and parents who are still held in the captivity of rogue elements in different parts of the federation,” he said.
He specifically mentioned 87 children and teachers recently kidnapped in Borno and Oyo states.
“Holding these children in captivity is a breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,” Bamidele said. “While we pray for them fervently, our security forces are committed to securing their release very soon.”
He assured that the National Assembly is working to strengthen security and social protection systems, pointing out that: “We are committed to building a system that guarantees safety and security of lives and property even in the remotest parts,” he said.
Bamidele added that lawmakers would push for tougher penalties for kidnappers, noting: “For us, kidnapping in all its ramifications is a crime against humanity, and it must be treated as such.”
