Abba Hamisu Sani
Africa-Press – Nigeria. History has shown that Nigerian elections were characterized by violence at different points right from Pre Independence to post Independence periods.
The Violence mostly takes place from the time of Political parties internal elections, Campaigns and Political rallies as Politicians make it a tradition of movinng round with armed thugs which mostly clash with other political rivals, times even in front of the security agents.
As 2023 elections are around the corner, particularly presidential elections which will take place on 25th of this Month (February 2023).And State Governors poll which will be held in March.
Another point at which violence is common in Nigeria is during elections at the polling units ,collation centers and during the result announcement.
Post election is also a major point at what violence and uprisings occurs in Nigeria especially when people are not satisfied with elections outcome.
Majority of those engage in such violent activities are youths who are more vulnerable due unemployment and drug addiction.
Research conducted by the Institute for Security Studies and Freedom Centre Onuoha, University of Nigeria Nsuka reveals that Violence as a perennial feature of elections in Nigeria happens across the three stages of the electoral cycle before, on and after election day. The pre election violence occur mostly during party primaries when political parties elect their candidates and during campaigns.
It’s estimated that more than 1,149 people, including Independent National Electoral Commission employees and security officers, were killed in the three elections held in 2011, 2015 and 2019.
In the past, violence was perpetrated by thugs hired by desperate politicians. But the rise of non-state armed groups and the proliferation of weapons in Nigeria have made election security management even more complex.
“Our recent analysis of Nigeria’s 2023 election confirms that the actions of these armed groups are already affecting core elements of election security. There have been abductions involving the electoral commission’s staff and attacks on its offices and sensitive equipment” The Institute disclosed.
Violence in relation to South East Insecurity
The frequency and intensity of attacks on election security have been most prominent in Nigeria’s south east zone. The zone consists of five states ; Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Anambra and Imo and has 11.49 million voters out of a population of about 22 million.
The Centre recently published paper identifies the evolving trend of attacks on electoral materials and election commission officials in the south east region of Nigeria and the implications of this for the success of the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria.
In recent years, Independent National Electoral Commission offices in Nigeria’s south east have been the target of violent attacks by armed groups. At least 134 incidents involving INEC offices and staff have been recorded between 2019 and 2022.
The attacks didn’t happen in a vacuum. Rather, they are situated in a complex web of violent attacks orchestrated by multiple non-state armed groups in the zone.
These include cult groups, Indigenous People of Biafra, communal militia, political thugs, pastoralists, and the criminals widely described as “unknown gunmen” in Nigeria.
The activities of these groups continue to rise amid repressive state responses. Added to this is the danger that politicians desperate to gain an edge in the election will politicize and even incentivise the violence.
Security agencies heap the violence at the feet of Indigenous People of Biafra. It is almost convenient for state officials to attribute these attacks to IPOB, given that its members were allegedly responsible for much of the attacks on government establishment before the latest descent into widespread violence in the region.
However, a nuanced understanding of the drivers and dynamics of violence in the region may be more useful as a basis for action.
Rising incidents of violent attack
Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data repository, covering general violence, shows that 970 incidents were reported between 2019 and 6 January 2023. An estimated 1,360 were reportedly killed.
The data relies on local groups and media reports. Many incidents probably go unrecorded. About 60% of these attacks were carried out by unknown gunmen. For its part the Indigenous People of Biafra carried out 129 attacks and communal militia 101. About 31 attacks have been carried out on the electoral commission’s offices in the zone since 2019. Nearly 30% were recorded in 2022.
An example of a recent incident was the attack by an armed group on the electoral commission’s headquarters in Owerri Municipality, Imo state on 12 December 2022. Five people, two of whom were policemen, died.
Dr. Mustapha Muhammad Yahaya is a Civil Society activist and Executive Director Dispute resolution and development Initiative formerly known as Democratic Action Group DAG. He said the militancy in the south east particularly that perpetrated by the Independent People of Biafra will really affect the conduct of the 2023 elections in such areas.
The militants give seat at home orders from time to time and in some instances kill people and they destroy properties unnecessarily.
He added that they said they are agitating for their People and why at the same time killing innocent citizens of the same region.
“My humble advice to those militants is , they should know that killing innocent People, even your own tribes denying People their right of movement to go for their lawful businesses and you said you are fighting for people’s right of freedom which type of freedom are you fighting for Dr. Mustapha stated.
The activist described the IPOB agitation as unacceptable, very wrong and unconstitutional and even criminal. There are so many lawful ways that they can do their agitations. Such uprisings will prevent a lot of people from participating in the upcoming election in the southeast region hence denying them their right for election.
Dr. Muhammad Yahaya urged the Government to be well prepared in tackling the security issues in the region and all parts of Nigeria at large as nobody is above the law.
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