2019 ELECTORAL VIOLENCE

A TEST FOR NIGERIA’S DEMOCRACY

Abstract

It may be save to align with those who believe that results in Nigeria elections comes unfortunately in two separate columns: one records the votes cast at polling stations; the other the number of people killed around the time of the election. Nigeria’s Presidential Elections of 2019 has come and gone, but its scathing criticisms have flowed freely in the media and non-media outlets in the wake of the embarrassing conduct of the said election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). That General Election’s nightmare went beyond the acrimonious results produced by the returning
officers even where it was glaring that the card reader or supposedly smartcard reader greatly malfunctioned or were even disregarded in some polling booths, but the election witnessed series of violence, such as killings, kidnapping, ballot box snatching, setting ablaze of INEC Offices and the worst of it all, was the role of the Nigerian Army and other sister security agencies. This paper adopted survey design as a method, hence using evidence of eye witness account and reports of civil society groups, Newspapers and political variables. Simple method was used in analyzing the data, as realist theory was used to assess the role power of incumbency played during and after election. This paper tend to
examine the level of violence experienced during this period under review and ascertain whether the nascent democracy Nigeria started in 1999 is moving forward or otherwise. And again, does the conduct of Election have an integrity question (?) on Nigeria’s leadership role in Africa. The assertion is line with the objective of the paper which tends to identify ways of reducing electoral violence in subsequent elections and offer options for stronger synergy between INEC and Security Agencies. One of the major findings of this paper was the connivance of security agencies and the government of the day; hence he pays the piper dictate the tune. The paper therefore, recommends that the National Assembly should make a law that will strengthen the independent of the electoral umpire to be really
independent.