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Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said he had ordered the police and the army to be "ruthless" with the perpetrators, following the postponement of the general elections at the last minute.
Critics have said his comments endorse the "justice of the jungle".
The outgoing president also declared the electoral commission incompetent and ordered the opening of an investigation into why the vote had been postponed.
Election officials cited "logistical" reasons for this postponement.
Mr. Buhari made these comments at an emergency meeting of his All Progressive Congress (APC) party in Abuja, the capital.
"Someone who decides to snatch [ballot] boxes or use thugs to disturb him [the vote] – Maybe this will be the last illegal action he will take, "he said.
He went on to say that anyone who tries to ingest him in the election would do it "at the expense of his life".
& # 39; Permit to kill & # 39;
The Democratic People 's Party (PDP), Nigeria' s main opposition party, said it was "a direct call to justice in the jungle".
"It is indeed a license to kill, which should not come from any civilized nation leader," said PDP spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan.
Buhari also hit the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec).
In his speech to the party members about the postponement, Buhari said that he had to answer questions about "why such incompetence has manifested" and promised an investigation.
Inec postponed the election just over five hours before the polls opened on Saturday morning.
They said it was because of problems with the transportation of ballots in certain areas of the country.
The presidential and parliamentary polls will take place on Saturday 23 February.
Elections of governors, state bademblies and regional councils have been postponed until Saturday, March 9.
Doubts about the new date
However, election observers told the BBC's Newsday program that they were not 100% sure that the elections would be held on Saturday.
The former president of Botswana, Festus Mogae, said that he "feared" that all the work to be done, including the audit of the ballot boxes, be done on time.
Another international observer, Fatoumata Tambajang, former vice president of The Gambia, said "it is doubtful, because one must be realistic given the enormity of the activities supposed to be carried out".
Despite these doubts, Election Commissioner Festus Okoye told the BBC that the commission had ruled out any further delay, insisting that "there is no more challenge".
Under the electoral law, the election campaign was halted before the elections began and the electoral commission announced that it would remain suspended until polling day on Saturday.
However, the two main parties have announced their intention to resume their campaigns.
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