The international human rights lawyer says attempts to manipulate electoral structures and consolidate political control may not guarantee victory, urging Nigeria's ruling party to learn from recent political developments in the United States.

International human rights lawyer, Emmanuel Ogebe, has cautioned Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against assuming that its growing political dominance and control of state governments will automatically translate into electoral victories.

Ogebe said recent political developments in the United States had demonstrated that even extensive efforts to influence electoral outcomes through political restructuring and changes to voting arrangements could fail when voters decided otherwise.

Drawing comparisons between the political situations in Nigeria and the US, the lawyer argued that those in power should never underestimate the influence of ordinary citizens, regardless of their political advantages or control of government institutions.

He pointed to developments under US President Donald Trump, particularly attempts to expand federal influence over electoral processes, including the proposed deployment of federal election observers.

According to Ogebe, some of these efforts encountered legal resistance, while other measures, including electoral redistricting and changes to polling arrangements, failed to deliver the expected political gains.

"Trump tried to overreach; he tried to have federal observers and so on. He went to court, and he pushed back," Ogebe said.

He explained that some states had undertaken significant electoral restructuring, including changes to voting districts and polling centres, in what he described as efforts to influence the direction of electoral outcomes.

However, he maintained that such measures did not prevent political defeats.

"One of the worst things that happened was that in certain states they did redistricting. They nullified polling centres, they did a lot of restructuring to try and control the vote, and they still lost," he added.

Relating the developments to Nigeria, Ogebe said the APC's expanding political influence across several states had created a situation that bore similarities to the American experience.

He argued that the ruling party should not interpret its growing control of state governments as evidence that it had secured the support of voters ahead of future elections.

"Let me point out that we have a similar situation in Nigeria, where the Federal Government has literally, through the APC, acquired a lot of states," he said.

Ogebe stressed that the American experience should serve as a warning to political leaders who believe that controlling government structures, electoral arrangements or political institutions is enough to determine election results.

He further claimed that the Republicans suffered significant electoral losses, describing the outcome as evidence that political dominance and electoral manoeuvres do not necessarily translate into popular support.

"It failed in America, despite everything that happened. They lost over 500 seats across the nation, and so that's a lesson that, you know, the people in power must fear the power of the people," he said.

The lawyer's remarks come amid growing political calculations ahead of Nigeria's next general election, with parties positioning themselves for what is expected to be a fiercely contested political contest.

His central message to the APC and other political leaders is that electoral victory cannot be guaranteed by political influence alone. Ultimately, voters retain the power to reward or reject those seeking to remain in office.