The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kano State and security agents and other stakeholders in the state have vowed to clamp down on anyone attempting to disrupt the upcoming bye-elections scheduled for August 16, 2025, reports Business Today NG.
The elections will be held in Ghari/Tsanyawa and Bagwai/Shanono State Constituencies.
They handed this warning after a security stakeholders meeting, held on Wednesday, 30 July, 2025 at INEC headquarters in Kano.
The meeting, which focused on strategies to ensure a peaceful and credible election, involved representatives from the Police, Army, Department of State Services (DSS), Civil Defence, Customs, Immigration, and the Federal Road Safety Corps.
Speaking after the meeting, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Kano, Ambassador Zango Abdul, said the gathering was convened to explore ways to prevent electoral violence and guarantee a calm and orderly voting process.
“We have already finalized our preparations — including reconfiguration of BVAS devices and training of electoral officials,” the REC stated.
Abdulwarned individuals or groups planning to foment unrest during the election to reconsider, recalling the disruption of a previous attempt to conduct the Ghari/Tsanyawa poll, when thugs attacked electoral officials and vandalized materials, leading to election’s cancellation.
Kano State Commissioner of Police, CP Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, represented by CSP Abubakar Hamma, saidthat the police had learned valuable lessons from past elections and would not allow hoodlums to interfere this time.
“We urge the public to vote peacefully. Any politician who intends to cause violence because they fear losing should be prepared to face the consequences,” he warned.
INEC is scheduled to hold a follow-up stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday, during which it will engage political parties participating in the elections to seek their cooperation and commitment to peaceful conduct.
The election in Ghari/Tsanyawa will take place in 10 polling units, following a court order mandating a rerun. However, a previous attempt to hold the vote failed due to attacks by political thugs. The Bagwai/Shanono bye-election, on the other hand, is necessitated by the death of former lawmaker representing the constituency. He passed away in April 2024.
