APC Thugs Disrupt Plateau Constituency Primary Vote Count

Suspected thugs on Saturday evening wreaked havoc on the direct primary of the APC in the Federal Constituencies of Jos-South and Jos-East in the Plateau State, just before the elections. The incident took place in Zarmaganda, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State in RCM Primary School, Zarmaganda.

As results were being tallied, “the men stormed the venue,” witnesses said. The attack caused confusion in the count and left the count to stop when the party officials got there. Finally security forces succeeded in calming things down, but it wasn’t determined until Sunday morning.

The Plateau State government has given assurance to the APC officials about the matter to be thoroughly investigated. Luka Shallang, the party’s state publicity secretary condemned the incident. “It will not be possible for criminals to mess with our democratic process, I said in a statement.”

No one was reportedly killed in the incident. However, a number of officials were reported to have suffered minor injuries in the scuffle. As of Sunday no one has been arrested so far, police said.

Warning Sign for 2027

The chaos has led to new worries about party primaries being places of violence. In addition, the incidents suggest what type of electoral conflict Nigeria is about to see in the future as it moves towards general elections in 2027, observers add.

Civic society organisations have also been sounding the alarm over the violence that could be witnessed during party primaries in Nigeria as compared with the general election. At venues closest to the audience, enforcement is weak, allowing violence actors to easily interfere in the process.

Additionally, INEC asked for more staffing in primary election sites during the election to prevent all forms of electoral violence. Commission is monitoring the reported incidents, and will take action if they allow violence to occur during the candidate selection procedure.

Plateau’s Political Tensions

Political and communal tensions have been experienced in Plateau State in the past. There have been several violent clashes between pastoralists and farmers in the state. As political competition intensifies with upcoming elections in 2027, additional tension has been added.

Governor Caleb Mutfwang has called upon political players in the state to play in a peaceful manner during the primaries. There will not be any kind of violent act during the electioneering process, the government will never allow it at all, he said.

National secretariat of APC has been receiving reports of the primaries conducted on Saturday in all the States and is analysing them. If any candidate is caught sponsoring violence, they will be disqualified, party officials have said. The Jos South disruption is being investigated.