By Suleiman Anyalewechi
Fiery Senior Lawyer and social criticn Jibrin Samuel Okutepa, SAN, has warned that unless urgent and genuine electoral reforms are carried out, democracy may be imperiled in 2027.
The legal luminary who spoke in reaction to last weekend’s FCT council polls, described the exercise as a “democratic sabotage, and a treason against the will of the people.”
The Source reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Sunday February 22, 2026 formally declared the All Progressive Congress, APC, as winners in five of the six Local Government Councils of FCT. The Peoples Democratic party, PDP, secured one – Gwagwalada Local Council.
However, in a post on his official site, Okutepa described the polls and the outcome as a sham and predetermined selection.
According to him, the exercise totally fell short of the standards of free, fair and credible election.
He insisted that the work-free day declared on Friday February 20 by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, was the prelude to the “shenanigans that characterized the polls.”
According to him, the long period of movement restrictions proved to be the final weapon deployed to brazenly upturn the will of the people.
This is as he cited the “audacious and devilish alterations” that occurred on EC8A result forms. He decried clear irregularities and manipulations that took place during the exercise.
He, particularly, referenced a case in which a political party was recorded to have scored a total of 1,212 votes , while the total number of valid votes cast in the polling unit was 211.
He described such brazen act of election manipulation as not only unconstitutional, but undermines the sovereign will of the people as well as endangers democracy as a whole.
He called for an urgent review of the recently enacted 2026 Electoral Act amendment law to allow for real-time electronic transmission of election results.
According to him, with the “shameless and barefaced results alterations, and manipulations ,there is the urgent need for the adoption of digital electoral process within the system.
” The FCT council elections showed that Nigerians’ will and votes do not matter and Nigerians do not determine who govern them.
“2027 elections will be more terrible and brazen than what happened in the FCT on Saturday February 21,2026 . First , democracy is not a function of show of force . It is not a process rooted in arrogance or exhibition of naked force .
“The declaration of work free day on Friday February 20,2026 by the FCT Minister was the prelude to the rigging that took place on Saturday 21st February 2026.
” To call what happened on Saturday 21st February 2026 an election is completely an abuse of language . What happened on Saturday was never a free,fair and credible election.
” It was democratic sabotage where people were prevented from coming out to vote due to unlawful ,and unconstitutional declarations of a work free day and restrictions of movement of people on the day of election.
” Nigeria’s democracy is in danger ,it is currently on life support ,and those in power have decided to sabotage the growth of democracy in Nigeria.
” INEC staff were equally not alive to their responsibility in some cases . The mutilation of election results ,and arbitrary additions of votes as seen on forms EC8As on social media points to fact that lam making.
” Those who engaged in this democratic imposition have committed treason against the people and again the Nigerian Constitution.
” For democracy to thrive in Nigeria ,we must reject manual collation of votes . We must demand and insist that any votes that has mutilations , cancellations , alterations and subtractions should not count and must not be counted.
” It means that INEC leadership must have the liver ,and courage of convictions to cancel results that have alterations , cancellations , mutilations and such other interlineations on the face of electoral-forms” Okutepa wrote.
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