One nationally prominent opposition politician, for example, told Human Rights Watch that during the campaign, If my colleague in Senatorial District is having problems, I will send some boys to help him out. Far from renouncing violence, many Nigerian politicians take the role of violence and intimidation in politics for granted and discuss it openly. There are many signs that the trend in many areas will be towards more frequent and severe episodes of bloodshed and intimidation in the weeks before, during, and immediately after the polls. Most of the incidents recorded by the EVER community monitors, such as destruction of campaign materials, did not involve any loss of life or injury but included numerous violent clashes between opposing camps and several apparent assassinations. 21 The Electoral Violence Education and Resolution Project (EVER) run by the Nigeria Alliance for Peaceful Elections and the international NGO IFES recorded 77 incidents of election-related violence across the country in one month alone: January 13 to February 13, 2007.
20 Those numbers may greatly underestimate the true scale of the problem one international organization with a comprehensive conflict monitoring program in Nigeria recorded 280 reports of election-related deaths and more than 500 injuries over an eight-week period ending in mid-March. These incidents carried a combined reported death toll of at least 70 people, with many more injured. The Nigerian press has reported at least 70 incidents of election-related violence between November 2006 and the middle of March 2007 across 20 of Nigerias 36 states. As early as December 2006 one international organization monitoring conflict in Nigeria warned that The use of thugs by politicians and groups has not abated⁚llegations and denials of politically-sponsored violence have been rife and people are concerned that the electoral process may be sliding towards a repeat of the 2003 experience. 19 The trend towards violence has since continued to build.
18 Similar problems are again emerging in many areas. Nigerias last general elections took place during April and May 2003 and in those two months alone more than 100 people were killed in election-related violence with many more injured. This is precisely what happened in Nigerias 2003 elections, and yet the authorities have done little to prevent the emergence of similar abuses in 2007 or to deal with them effectively in places where they have occurred. 16 Violence, actual and threatened, restricts the ability of ordinary voters to participate in the forthcoming elections and will empower some politicians to subvert the electoral process before and during the April polls.
#77 days to subvert the election free
Human Rights Committee has spelt out, fundamental to fair elections is that voters should be able to form opinions independently, free of violence or threat of violence. Nigerias epidemic of political violence has human rights implications beyond its immediate toll in human lives. This violence forms part of a broader pattern of violence and abuse that is inherent in Nigerias largely unaccountable political system. The run-up to Nigerias April elections has been violent, with campaigning in many areas beset by political killings, bombings and armed clashes between supporters of rival political factions.
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