Bullet Before Ballot: Nigeria Loses 20 Voters to insecurity again, ahead of 2027

By Bolaji O. Akinyemi

As Nigeria hurtles toward another general election in 2027, the theatre of politics is already in full swing. Governance has been abandoned at the altar of ambition. Politicians have once again shifted their attention from public service to personal survival, coalescing into desperate alliances designed not to deliver change, but to dethrone President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Meanwhile, the people — wearied by unending hardship — are distracted by bread-and-butter anxieties, religious theatrics, and social media skirmishes. In the vacuum created by this collective neglect, the enemy within has struck again.

Over the weekend, 20 Nigerians — all of voting age — were murdered in cold blood in separate incidents across communities in North-Central and North-West Nigeria. Their only crime was being at the mercy of a failed state that has normalized bloodshed. These victims, whose names may never make it to the front pages of our newspapers, were eligible voters. Their votes could have shaped the future, their voices silenced forever by the guns of terror and the inertia of leadership.

This is not just another sad statistic. It is an indictment.

It is an indictment of a political class that has prioritized permutations over protection. An indictment of a presidency that remains more committed to consolidating power than confronting the killers ravaging our land. An indictment of a nation that continues to bury its youth while pretending that 2027 will bring change without confronting the rot in 2025.

Where is the state?

When Ministerial overreach goes unchecked, when governors turn into emperors in their domains, and when federal appointees weaponize institutions for vendettas, is it any surprise that terror rules the roads, the farms, and now even the voters register?

The loss of 20 eligible voters is not just a security breach. It is electoral disenfranchisement by death. It is the quiet, gradual genocide of hope. We are losing the future ones to bullet at a time, and nobody in power is truly accounting for it.

In a press release dated Tuesday, 15th July, 2025, made from Riyom LGA, Plateau State, Nigeria, titled; Tahoss Village Massacre: 20 Dead In Another Attack by Suspected Fulani Extremists.

The Coalition for the Protection of Democracy (COPDEM); Riyom Branch, informs the global community of the loss of their brethren. “We mourn with deep sorrow and unwavering concern the latest tragedy that struck the peaceful community of Bindi in Ta-Hoss Village, Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where no fewer than 20 people were killed in a brutal overnight attack on Monday, 14th July 2025.

Eyewitnesses and local sources confirm that the assailants were heavily armed suspected Fulani extremists, a pattern tragically consistent with several previous attacks across Riyom and other parts of Plateau. This assault occurred despite the visible presence of security forces in and around the area, including armored military assets. Homes were burnt, families displaced, and trauma deepened.

It must be clearly stated: these attackers are not unknown. Their hideouts and base settlements in nearby enclaves have been repeatedly identified and reported by community leaders and local authorities. Yet, year after year, these known threats continue to strike with impunity, often unchallenged.

The recurring nature of these atrocities points not only to a failure of protection but raises grave questions about inaction, negligence, and systemic compromise.

We call upon:

The President of Nigeria and National Security Council to order a high-level intervention and military operation to dismantle the known terrorist enclaves threatening Plateau’s peace.

The Plateau State Government to declare a state of emergency in the affected areas and provide direct humanitarian relief, community rebuilding efforts, and trauma support.

The Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of Army Staff to urgently audit and reposition security architecture across Riyom and adjoining LGAs.

The Nigerian Police and Department of State Services (DSS) investigate the continued failure to apprehend or deter the attackers despite known intelligence.

Our people are being buried daily. We are tired of condolence visits and silence.
We are tired of press statements that do not translate to protection.

The community of Ta-Hoss — like Jol, Rim, Bachi, Wereng, Nding, and other previously hit areas — deserves more than sympathy. They deserve security, dignity, and justice.

We remind elected representatives from Plateau North that this is not the time for campaign tours or strategic endorsements.
The ground beneath your constituents is soaked with innocent blood.

You must pause all 2027 political ambitions and focus every resource, connection, and influence on saving lives, restoring order, and rebuilding hope.
A government that cannot secure its people loses the moral right to ask for their votes.

OUR GLOBAL APPEAL

We urge:

The United Nations Human Rights Council

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

The African Union Peace and Security Council

ECOWAS

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

And all global humanitarian and justice agencies

…to take immediate interest in the systematic violence and creeping genocide in Plateau State. The scale, consistency, and silence surrounding these attacks demand international attention and documentation.

Our demand is simple: the right to live.

If the government cannot guarantee that, the people must be allowed to defend themselves — within the confines of the law — as self-defense is a fundamental right recognized globally.

Let history show that we spoke. Let posterity know that we did not accept death in silence” it was signed by,
Gadu Daniel Dong,
Publicity Secretary and Gideon Manjal, the
Chairman for the Coalition for the Protection of Democracy (COPDEM), Riyom Branch.

More painful is the fact that these deaths like others before it will likely fade into the fog of political noise. They will not be mentioned at political rallies. They will not be mourned at campaign strategy meetings. They are not useful data for INEC. They are not considerations in the manifestos. Yet they are the real casualties of Nigeria’s failed promises.

A Call to Conscience
It is time for the media, civil society, religious institutions, and the awakened remnants of the citizenry to raise a louder alarm. The 2027 elections are already compromised — not by ballot box snatching, but by the systematic elimination of voters through unchecked insecurity.

We must demand that President Tinubu shifts focus from politicking to policing, from campaigning to commanding the security architecture to function. Every citizen killed is a vote lost, a voice erased, and a republic diminished.

If we cannot protect the lives of our voters, we cannot claim to be in a democracy.

Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.

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