2019: Buhari Warned Ballot Box Snatchers They Could Pay With Their Lives — Olagoke Revisits Controversial Statement

A social media user, Abiola Olagoke, has reignited debate over electoral violence and political hypocrisy by recalling a controversial warning issued by former President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of Nigeria’s 2019 general elections.

In a post on X, Olagoke shared a reminder of Buhari’s February 18, 2019 remarks, in which the then-president warned that anyone who attempted to snatch ballot boxes or deploy thugs to disrupt elections could face fatal consequences.

“This was President Buhari telling us in 2019 that anyone that tries to snatch ballot boxes should be shot at sight and telling the military and the Police to be ruthless,” Olagoke wrote.

He urged Nigerians not to allow members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to dismiss or rewrite the party’s past, adding: “Do not allow APC folks to gaslight you. They did more than this pre-2015. Rig and Die!”

Buhari made the remarks while addressing an emergency APC National Caucus meeting in Abuja on February 18, 2019, days before the rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections.

At the meeting, Buhari said he had directed the military and police to be ruthless towards anyone attempting to disrupt the electoral process. He warned that anyone who snatched ballot boxes or led thugs to interfere with voting might be taking their last unlawful action and could do so “at the expense of his own life.”

The statement generated widespread reactions at the time, with opposition parties and civil society groups expressing concern that the president’s language could encourage excessive use of force during elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) subsequently clarified that electoral offenders should be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act. INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu said ballot-box snatching should attract the punishment prescribed by law, rather than an extrajudicial response. 

The Presidency also defended Buhari’s comments, describing them as a warning against electoral violence and insisting that the security agencies were expected to protect lives and property. 

Olagoke’s post has brought the 2019 controversy back into public discussion, particularly as political conversations and preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections gather momentum.

His central argument is that Nigerians should remember the statements and actions of political actors when assessing their current positions on electoral conduct and democracy.