Ekiti 2026: Group urges peaceful election

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The Women Situation Room Nigeria has called for free, fair, peaceful and inclusive off-cycle and general elections holding between 2026 and 2027 in the country.

WSRN Assistant Programme Manager, Jane Siesi, who bemoaned the implications of conflicts and violence before, during and after elections, particularly on women, called for coordinated efforts to avert violence in every poll.

Siesi spoke in Ado Ekiti on Thursday during the official inauguration of the Early Warning and Response Centre in Ekiti State and a one-day capacity-building training for women’s rights organisations and women groups ahead of the June 20, 2026 governorship election in the state.

The programme is part of WSRN’s activities for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence under the global theme, “End Digital Violence Against Women and Girls: Safe Spaces for All.”

The event was attended by stakeholders including representatives of the National Orientation Agency, civil society organisations, Ekiti State Ministry of Women Affairs, women groups, police, civil defence personnel and the media.

Siesi said, “The inauguration of the Early Warning and Response Centre is an activity of the WSRN because, over time, we have come to realise that elections are conflict triggers, and this affects women’s participation as voters, candidates and electorate, among others.”

She added that the centre would serve as a prevention mechanism by working on conflict and violence indicators, identifying early warning trends and addressing issues that could cause violence during or after elections.

“We have observed general and state elections and have identified that violence affects women disproportionately compared to men. So, for the WSRN, our thematic area is the prevention of violence against women in elections and promoting participation.

“This centre will help detect forms or trends of violence. Not just detecting it, we are analysing these trends and also providing responses in terms of escalation. We have also launched our toll-free line, which is free for everyone to call in to report incidences of violence.

“So, this helps us to be better coordinated and better prepared ahead of the election. Ekiti governorship election is holding on June 20, 2026, and the general election will happen in 2027.

“This is our own way of being prepared so we are not caught off guard in terms of issues of violence that can erupt during elections,” she added.

Siesi said that ahead of the Ekiti governorship election, the WSRN was also conducting research on election-related violence across the three senatorial districts of the state.

“The methodology we are using for this is focus group discussions, key informant interviews and surveys, cutting across respondents from the three senatorial districts. The feedback we get from this will also feed into these early warning centres,” she said.

Siesi added that the centre would be receiving reports from people and researchers, saying, “This will enable us to have sustainable reports that we can use as policy advocacy tools to critical stakeholders in the state. This will also support the early warnings.”

In a keynote address, the Zonal Director, National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, Abiodun Alamutu, said NCCSALW’s core mandate was the control and management of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country.

Alamutu, represented by NCCSALW Assistant Director, Legal Services/Gender Advisor, Ibironke Odetola, said, “The widespread availability of illegal small arms and light weapons is a direct fuel for various forms of violence, including conflict, communal clashes, banditry and, crucially, violence against persons, not excluding women in elections.

“When arms are unregulated and easily accessible, the incidence, intensity and brutality of violence against women escalate. An environment saturated with illegal weapons is an environment where the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda cannot thrive.

“Therefore, our work to disarm and demobilise persons found with small arms and light weapons is a fundamental strategy for achieving peace and guaranteeing the security, freedom and human rights of every Nigerian, including women. Arms control is, in essence, an essential pillar of the women, peace and security framework.”

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