Investigating the Causes and Impact of Electoral Violence in Nigeria

Violence, particularly that unauthorized by state authorities, is one of the mainstream security challenges that Africa as a continent is facing at this time. A report indicates that more than two–thirds of African states are currently facing one form of violence or another, including political, gender-based, economic, social, cultural, religious, and ethnic violence, and several other varieties which have accompanied the formation of illicit armed groups across Africa. Nigeria is one of the countries in Africa with a high prevalence of violence in different magnitudes. Electoral violence has been among the most devastating kinds of violence in Nigeria for many decades. It has been observed that electoral violence was a forerunner to the collapse of the First, Second, and Aborted Third Republics, and the phenomenon has not spared the present Fourth Republic. This chapter investigates analytically, and in detail, the causes and impact of electoral violence in Nigeria. The chapter identifies interviews and documentary sources as the context for the gathering of data, and reports on the subject matter were critically consulted and subjected to academic rigour to provide a position that will serve as a contribution towards filling the gap of knowledge. The study presents an argument on the major causes of electoral violence in Nigeria, and the impact of electoral violence on the Nigerian State. And it has proffered practical remedies for ameliorating the menace. It is expected that the study will be valuable and will provide a basis for policy implementation in Nigeria and other African states, with the aim of preventing and countering electoral violence, which is believed to have been one of the roots of many conflicts in the continent. This will help in the consolidation and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria and Africa, and in lessening conflicts and security challenges in Africa.