2027: Falana Warns Against Voter Suppression, Election Violence In Lagos, Says Those Who Cannot Win Elections Resort To Thuggery

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has warned political parties and candidates in Lagos State against election violence and voter suppression ahead of the 2027 general elections, calling for a united effort to protect the votes of eligible voters irrespective of their political affiliations or ethnic backgrounds.

Falana said the experience of the last election in Lagos showed that violence could be deployed to prevent some eligible voters from exercising their rights, and urged candidates across party lines to form a common front to defend every vote.

“Let me now warn the candidates: Going by what happened during the last election, violence will be introduced. Many people will not be allowed to vote, unless you guys are ready to form, regardless of your political parties, to form a group that will defend the vote of everybody in Lagos,” Falana said.

He made the remarks at a public event in a video shared by News Central TV on Monday.

Falana cautioned against the use of ethnic identity to intimidate voters, particularly people who may be perceived as not belonging to the Yoruba ethnic group in Lagos.

“And I want to beg you, if you are ready to defend the vote of everybody, and it’s very important, because those who cannot win elections, resort to violence, thuggery, where you come from, that you don’t look like a Yoruba man, therefore you must not vote. In Lagos, in Nigeria, that must not be allowed,” he said.

“We didn’t fight for this rickety democracy, that somebody will look at your face: ‘Oh, you should not vote in this country,'” he added.

On the N15tn Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, Falana also questioned the estimated cost of the project and its route, urging Nigerians to demand accountability from the Federal Government.

Falana questioned why a project initially conceived as a coastal highway was reportedly being extended inland, asking the government to explain how the funds earmarked for it would be spent.

He said, “The road, coastal road has now become land road, I’m sure you are aware. What I’m saying is that, after Ogun State, they now said they are going from Edo to go by land, because they can’t fund it. Again, we must now ask questions: What are the 15 trillion naira earmarked for that road?”

He said citizens had a responsibility to demand accountability from public officials, adding that a lack of scrutiny allowed those in government to act without sufficient public oversight.

“And that is the only way we can get these people to be accountable,” he said.

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a flagship infrastructure project of the President Bola Tinubu administration, designed to connect Lagos with Calabar, Cross River State, along Nigeria’s southern coastline. The project is estimated to cost about N15tn upon completion and has attracted public debate over its cost, route and funding.