By Emmanuel Thomas l Tuesday, August 25,2026
ABUJA — Human rights monitoring body, Amnesty International, has strongly condemned the Chairman of the Kuje Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo, following public threats to forcibly expel residents who refuse to join or vote for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a sharp rebuke issued in Abuja, the rights group described the local government boss’s statements as an unambiguous call to violence and an unlawful assault on citizens’ rights to freedom of association, freedom of movement, and liberty of person.
”Authoritatively declaring that those who will not vote for the APC must leave the Kuje Area Council is a dangerous precedent,” the statement read.
“No individual, regardless of their political office or affiliation, holds the right to tie a citizen’s living conditions or residency in any part of Nigeria to joining or voting for a specific political party.”
Dangerous Threat to Public Peace
Amnesty International alerted security forces, including the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS), that allowing such politically motivated threats to go unchecked risks inciting widespread communal violent clashes.
The organization emphasized that the Kuje Chairman’s rhetoric poses an existential threat to society, warning that a failure to hold public officials accountable creates a climate of impunity.
”The Chairman of Kuje Area Council, Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo, is displaying actions that put society at risk and must be held strictly accountable for threatening violence against those exercising their constitutionally guaranteed political choices,” Amnesty stated.
The group further warned that any unchecked attempt to unleash political violence in Kuje will carry broader destabilizing effects across the FCT, putting innocent lives and livelihoods in immediate danger.
Amnesty reiterated that the constitutional rights of all citizens to freely make political choices without coercion or intimidation must be respected and protected by security authorities.
The tension in the Federal Capital Territory comes amid an increasingly sensitive political climate across local government councils in Nigeria. In recent election cycles, political figures across various regions have come under scrutiny for adopting coercive tactics, voter intimidation, and partisan inflammatory statements ahead of local and national polls.
Kuje Area Council, an important agricultural and suburban hub in the FCT, hosts a diverse demographic of indigenous residents and non-indigenous traders from across Nigeria.
Local government leadership in the FCT is tasked with preserving peaceful co-existence in line with Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), which guarantees every citizen freedom of movement and protection against political discrimination.
Legal experts and civil rights activists have frequently warned that political hate speech and forced exile threats violate both the 1999 Constitution and international human rights frameworks, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Rights organizations continue to call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and relevant security heads to swiftly investigate inflammatory remarks by political office holders to maintain civic order.
To watch how civic actors discuss the challenges of local council administration and regional security threats, view the discussion in Threats and Security in FCT Area Councils.
I’m my This resource highlights the governance pressures and electoral tensions that surface within local government administrations in the Federal Capital Territory.
