Nigeria recorded 339 incidents of election violence in 2022

Nigeria recorded 339 incidents of electoral violence in 2022, Impact Development Initiativea non-governmental organization that works to promote good governance and democratic rights, he said.

The organization said 165 people were killed in political violence.

The data was released last Thursday in a program with the theme: “National Dialogue on Mitigation of Electoral Violence Ahead of the 2023 Elections.”

The program was designed to discuss electoral violence in Africa’s largest democracy. The 2023 elections are important in many ways and that is why we need to talk about what is happening, said Bukola Idowu, executive director of KDI.

“This election is unique because we have seen a surge and awakening of young people who are interested in this election,” he said.

Nigeria holds general elections between February and March.

Mr. Idowu added: “If you look at Africa, there have been some military coups in some countries recently and this is the right time to protect democracy.

“We must be a shining example.”

Data released by KDI shows that Nigeria recorded 2,175 incidents of violence last year. Of these, 1,636 cases of non-election violence and 339 cases of election violence.

With 99 reported incidents, the south-west of Nigeria had the highest incidence of electoral violence, followed by the south-east with 77; south-south 56; north-central 54; northwest 32; and northeast 21.

“Over the years, electoral violence has increased,” Idowu added. “It is almost impossible to have an election without violence. It is unacceptable because the election is a civil affair, not a military affair.”

In a goodwill message, the Country Director of the International Republican Institute (IRI), Santiago Stocker, said the importance of reducing electoral violence cannot be overemphasized.

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“These issues are fundamental to Nigeria’s democratic trajectory,” Mr. Stocker said, adding, “Electoral violence has marred the 2023 general elections and threatens to disrupt the process further.”

“Since the signing of the peace agreement by the presidential candidates last September, we have seen more than 100 incidents of electoral violence in more than 30 countries and more than 80 local governments.

“A lot of this violence is a public display of egregious partisan violence; so we ask why this is happening. The stakes are high and politicians are involved in terrible politics, but the incentives are not there to prevent the violence,” said Mr. Stocker.

“While the 2022 electoral law prohibits punishment for violations, the enforcement of the punishment is lacking. It is the responsibility of all stakeholders who invest in this election to change the incentives of electoral violence and electoral violence and to hold the people accountable for their actions.

In his submission, Basil Idegwu, the deputy Inspector General of Police said the police have made adequate preparations to ensure that electoral violence is contained or reduced before the election.

“We started by doing our threat analysis across the federation and we will continue to update the threat as this will help the deployment of our personnel and resources,” he said.

“We are also working with other security agencies to ensure that we do a harmonious deployment of personnel. We are working together with intelligence assets to ensure that these perpetrators of violence are checked or arrested,” added Mr. Idegwu.

For his part, Ahmed Audi, commander general of the civil defense corps, praised KDI for hosting the program saying the discussion topic “is timely and timely as we are quickly counting down to the 2023 elections.”

“We as a people have unfortunately not completed the electoral process, but we hope that this first high-level national dialogue will be carried out with sincerity and earnestly to put to rest all the triggers and problems that have been attached to our electoral system. Consequently, debasing and retarding our essence to the world of civilized nations,” the NSCDC official said.

“That is why we must come together to save our electoral system,” said Mr. Audi. “The upcoming 2023 elections are very critical and vital to the survival and growth of our democracy. So all hands must be on deck to ensure that the elections are credible, free and fair.

“Elections can only be credible if all forms of electoral violence are eliminated and people are allowed to exercise their franchise.”