THE PREVALENCE OF ELECTORAL VIOLENCE DURING THE NIGERIA 2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS IN LAGOS STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. Background of the study

The electoral process has caused unjustified political instability in many African nations, including Nigeria, despite the fact that the electoral process is meant to contribute to democratic consolidation in any given country. According to Tijjani (2015), election is a process in which the people pick their leaders, signal their policies and programme preferences, and, as a result, invest a government with the ability to rule. According to Osakwe (2019) define election as a process of selecting individuals to occupy particular public posts through choices made by the voter; those citizens who are entitled to vote under the rules and procedures of the electoral system. According to Jinadu (2019), election is the formal process of choosing a person for public office or adopting or rejecting a political viewpoint, which is often done in any democratic setting where individuals may be elected to various positions for a certain period of time. Although the importance of elections under a democratic system of government cannot be emphasised, the process of electing individuals to public office is getting increasingly difficult in many nations throughout the world, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria.

But it is true that elections give electorates with enough chance to vote for individuals and parties that will reflect their various interests. Despite its vast potential, Nigeria, with a population of over 190 million people and significant natural resources, has been plagued by a succession of political upheavals from the first republic to the fourth republic. According to Uhunmwbangho (2018), election violence is a recurring phenomenon in Nigerian democracy's never-ending narrative of violence, which began with the First Republic and continues until the current fourth democratic government. According to Albert (2007), electoral violence encompasses all types of coordinated threats aiming at frightening, hurting, or blackmailing a political stakeholder or opponent prior to, during, or after an election with the objective of determining, delaying, or influencing a political process.

According to Jinadu (2019), electoral violence includes all types of riots, protests, party conflicts, political assassinations, looting, arson, thuggery, and abduction that occur before, during, and after elections. Electoral violence (conflict) is defined by Fischer (2002) as any random or organised act that seeks to determine, delay, or otherwise influence an electoral process through threat, verbal intimidation, hate speech, disinformation, physical assault, forced "protection", blackmail, property destruction, or assassination. Significantly, Nigeria has not had the good fortune to organise elections that are free, fair, and credible. Seven presidential elections have been held under Nigeria's current fourth republic presidential democracy (1999,2003,2007,2011,2015,2019,2022), all of which have been plagued by violence before, during, and after the vote. Since independence, the tendencies that interact with the Electoral Board's generation of election results in Nigeria have not been properly investigated and explained. These patterns differ and have been linked to the underlying cause of the election violence. Although a truly representative form of government must rely on election integrity as an honest, secret, and accurate method of assessing popular will at all levels of government, the opposite has been the case for the Nigeria Presidential Election, where Nigerian politicians do not follow the appropriate electoral rules even as their eagerness to gain political power drives them to use all means available to achieve their goal, regardless of the regulations. Their activity eventually leads to them attacking everyone who gets in their way, which leads to bloodshed, as shown in the recent Presidential Election on February 25th, 2023.

1.2 Statement of the problem

The just completed 2023 Nigerian presidential elections marked a turning point in the nation's political history by allowing a wide range of candidates to compete for federal and state legislative offices without an established incumbent in those positions. Nevertheless, Ogheneakoke, (2023) opined that the election was held against a backdrop of intense hostilities between political parties (APC,LP,PD, and NNPP) as well as a number of converging security issues that impact every area of Nigeria and the regular holding of elections. Party militias, criminal gangs, and other armed organisations have used violence in the instance of Lagos state, according to Sofekun, Oyakhiromen, Ige, and Obayemi (2022), to repress opponents, discourage competitor candidates from standing, and influence the electoral process. Since the state is an APC state and there was a need to give the APC presidential candidate greater attention, the political and media environment were not permitted to project the Labour Party candidate before to the election on February 25. Along with numerous allegations against partisan media organisations and political candidates declining media appearances, some candidates were charged with inciting hate speech and escalating inter-communal tensions, putting the nation at risk of escalating violence in an election that has a long history of violence since its independence in 1960. Political violence in the run-up to the 2023 election is largely in line with the levels observed before the 2019 election, increasing close to the election date, according to ACLED, which tracked the impact and dynamics of political violence in Nigeria through the Nigeria Election Violence Tracker, an interactive resource created in partnership with the Nigeria-based Centre for Democracy & Development (CDD). Yet, escalating violence against party members and election officials as well as criminal and regional activities allude to potential weaknesses in the post-election period. There were rumours that important election paperwork were sent to the wrong locations, which contributed to the observed delays in the beginning of voting. The 2023 general election will also be marked by a considerable quantity of violence in a number of electorates, with electoral thugs stealing ballot boxes, ballots being burned or destroyed, polling places being vandalised, etc.

According to Ogundele and Afolayan (2023), power-hungry politicians frequently sponsor unemployed youths, thugs, and blatant illiterates to carry out assaults on their perceived political opponents with the goal of manipulating election results to their own advantage. One such strategy is the electoral violence that was witnessed in Lagos state. Although various studies have been undertaken on election violence, This study shall make an indepth analysis of electoral violence in Nigeria with particular focus on Nigeria 2023 General Elections in Lagos State.

1.3 Objective of the study

The broad objective of this study focuses on the the prevalence of electoral violence during the Nigeria 2023 General Elections in Lagos State. Other specific objectives includes:

1. To examine whether there is prevalence of political violence in Lagos State in the just concluded 2023 presidential elections.

2. To investigate the types of electoral violence witnessed in Lagos State in the just concluded 2023 presidential elections

3. To ascertain whether electoral violence exerts a significance influence on political development.

4. To ascertain whether electoral violence exerts influence on democratic consolidation.

1.4 Hypotheses of the Study

Ho1: Electoral violence does not exerts a significance effect on political development in Lagos State.

Ho2: Electoral violence has no significant influence on democratic consolidation in State

1.5 Significance of the study

This research is significant in such a way that it examines the phenomenon of election malpractice and how it threatens the efforts at democratization in Nigeria’s fourth republic. It also x-rays the fundamental factors associated with election violence and ultimately recommends ways for obviating them. It will serve as an eye opener to researchers, government officials and general readers who truly intend to understand the impediment to democratic consolidation in Nigeria. Again, it will serve to sensitize the public and create awareness as to the destructive potentials of election malpractice towards the aspiration for democratization in Nigeria. Empirically, the study will contribute to body of knowledge and serve as a reference material to student and scholars who wishes to conduct further studies in related field.

1.6 Scope of the study

The scope of this study borders on the Nigeria 2023 General Elections in Lagos State.. The study will further discuss the forms of electoral violence witnessed within Lagos State political space as well as the implication on political development and democratic consolidation. The participant for the study will cover residents of Eti-Osa Local government area in Lagos State.

1.7 Limitation of the study

The researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that electoral violence discourse is vast thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only residents of Lagos State. Thus findings of this study cannot be used for generalization for other states within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work will impede maximum devotion to the research. Howbeit, despite the constraint encountered during the research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

1.8 Definition of terms

Election: An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. 

Election Malpractice: Election malpractice refers to all illegitimate acts carried out before, during and after elections in order to influence the outcomes of an election to the advantage of a particular political party and to the detriment of the other(s). Such illegitimate acts include rigging, thuggery, violence, intimidation, fraud, bribery, vote buying, misrepresentation and all sort of illegal manipulations hinged on altering the otherwise anticipated outcome of an election.

Electoral violence: Electoral violence is any random or organized act that seeks to determine, delay, or otherwise influence an electoral process through threat, verbal intimidation, hate speech, disinformation, physical assault, forced “protection”, blackmail, destruction of property, or assassination.