The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of deploying state-backed security operatives to intimidate voters and manipulate the outcome of the Zamfara State House of Assembly by-election in Kaura Namoda South Constituency.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the PDP said the by-election held on Saturday, August 16, 2025, was marred by harassment, intimidation and voter suppression allegedly carried out by security agencies acting under the control of the APC.
According to the opposition party, photographic and video evidence revealed instances where voters were brutalized and ballot boxes carted away by heavily armed personnel who reportedly claimed they were acting on “orders from above”.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared the election inconclusive in five polling units, Alko/Shiyar Kudu PU (Sakajiki Ward), Shiyar Magaji/Kofar Hamza PU (Kyambarawa Ward), Shiyar Nufawa/Kofar MD Nuhu PU (Sakajiki Ward), Tukasu/Sabuwar Kasuwa PU (Kyambarawa Ward), and Kofar Fada/Shiyar Fada PU (Kyambarawa Ward).
The PDP alleged that the decision was part of a plot to pave the way for APC to manipulate the process during the re-run election scheduled for Thursday, August 21, 2025.
The party further accused a serving minister from Zamfara State of coordinating the deployment of “full battalions” of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Mobile Police Force, and the Department of State Services, DSS, to the five polling units.
They described the move as a strategy to “foist a siege mentality” on the electorate and prevent them from exercising their constitutional right to vote.
“Intelligence available to our Party reveals that the APC intends to use security agencies to bully and prevent INEC officials from conducting a free, fair, and credible process, while assisting the APC to manipulate and declare a result that does not reflect the will of the people,” the PDP said.
The opposition party warned that the development posed a “clear and present danger” to Nigeria’s democracy and stability, insisting that Zamfara people “are not a conquered people” and would resist attempts to subvert their mandate.
Calling on Nigerians and the international community to take note, the PDP said the APC’s resort to state-backed intimidation was a pointer to its “creeping totalitarianism” and desire to impose a one-party state.
It urged both domestic and international observers to hold the APC responsible in the event of any breakdown of law and order in Kaura Namoda or elsewhere in Zamfara State.
“The PDP and the people of Zamfara State will not accept any results that are at variance with the already collated votes reflecting the will of the electorate,” the party declared.