Ahead of the February 18 governorship and state house assembly polls, a new report has said 109 persons were killed in political violence with Kano State recording the highest deaths of 20 persons.
The report released by the Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, said
states that will hold gubernatorial polls with the most incidents of political violence since 1st January 2023 are Lagos, Rivers, Kano, Delta and Anambra.
The CDD, in its Nigeria, Elections Violation Tracker, listed
incidents in Lagos, Rivers, Kano, Osun, Delta, Anambra among other states monitored in the past three months.
According to the report ways violence could manifest include voter intimidation, ballot box snatching and the destruction of election materials.
Chairman of CDD’s Election Analysis Centre, EAC, Adele Jinadu, and CDD Director, Idayat Hassan, while opening the EAC in Abuja said Osun, Imo and Ebonyi have also seen a number of incidents in the past three months that could disrupt state house of assembly polls taking place in the state.
“In total, 109 deaths linked to political violence have been recorded from the start of the year to 10 March 2023 according to the tracker,” they said.
Based on its mapping, CDD predicted that violence linked to the states elections could worsen due to the activities of armed groups quasi-security outfits.
“Groups such as Yan Sakai, the Civilian Joint Task Force, Neighbourhood Watch, Amotekun and Ebubeagu have been, and can be, armed and deployed by state governors and their allies to perpetrate electoral violence or suppress voter turnout, particular in areas of strong opposition support,” CDD said.
Apart from these outfits, the CDD noted the presence of the more conventional political thugs, paid to disrupt polls or intimidate political opponents, as a threat to these elections.
“The insecurity they create itself portends dangers for the ability to conduct credible elections, increases the likelihood of inconclusive results and, ultimately, the need for supplementary elections. Bauchi, Kano, Rivers, and Sokoto all faced this scenario in 2019, with a high risk of repeat in 2023,” the centre said.
According to CDD, “the non-return of federal race results for the 25 February election and the suspension of the Resident Electoral Commissioner for alleged malpractice, have ramped up tensions, increasing the risk of election and post-election violence.
“In Kano, the recent replacement of the commissioner of police, with an individual alleged to be an ally of a political party, is emblematic of concerns about the role of security agencies as violent actors rather than preservers of the peace.
“Rivers, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Oyo, Sokoto, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Gombe and Zamfara are all hotspots for violence during the election.”