By 247ureports.com
Amnesty International Nigeria has condemned the Edo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jarret Tenebe, after he threatened to invoke “the power of AK-47” against anyone attempting to obstruct the party’s plan to deliver 2.5 million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, accusing Nigeria’s security agencies of failing to act against politicians who threaten violence ahead of the polls.
The Threat
Tenebe made the remarks at a campaign rally held as part of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s tour of Edo State’s 18 local government areas to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election. In a video that went viral online, Tenebe was heard warning: “So anybody who refuses, who wants to stand in our way of not getting the 2.5 million votes we want to give to Mr President, AK-47 fire.” He reportedly framed the threat in escalating terms, suggesting that invoking the spirit of “Holy Ghost fire” against obstructors would carry heavier consequences than invoking the “General Purpose Machine Gun” spirit, before settling on the AK-47 warning. Tenebe also directed criticism at skeptics questioning whether Edo State could realistically produce 2.5 million votes, describing them as “our haters, the opposition people and the social media politicians,” and pointed to the APC’s performance in the state’s most recent local government elections as evidence the target was achievable.
Amnesty’s Response
In a statement posted to X, Amnesty International Nigeria said Nigeria’s security agencies — tagging the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services — “are failing in their responsibilities” as politicians continue to publicly threaten violence ahead of 2027 “in utter disregard for the rule of law and the nation’s Electoral Act.” The rights organisation stated plainly that “Jarret Tenebe is a danger to democracy and rule of law and must be held to account,” and called on Nigerian authorities to ensure that any politician or leader found to be inciting or threatening politically, religiously or ethnically motivated violence or human rights abuses faces accountability, both ahead of 2027 and beyond.
The Backdrop: A High-Stakes Vote Pledge
The threat is rooted in a pledge Governor Okpebholo made directly to Tinubu — to deliver 2.5 million votes from Edo State in 2027, a figure matching the state’s entire 2023 registered voter total of roughly 2.5 million. That pledge has drawn scrutiny given Edo’s recent electoral history: Tinubu lost the state decisively in the 2023 presidential election, finishing second to Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who won with 331,163 votes to Tinubu’s 144,471. Okpebholo himself also won the 2024 Edo governorship race by a relatively narrow margin of roughly 44,000 votes, and that election was subsequently marked by PDP allegations of result manipulation and vote-count discrepancies in several local government areas.
What’s Next
As of this report, 247ureports.com has not located a response from Tenebe, the Edo State APC, the Nigeria Police Force, or the DSS to Amnesty International’s statement or calls for accountability. The episode adds to a broader pattern of heightened political rhetoric and violence concerns flagged by election monitors and civil society groups ahead of the January 2027 polls.
