2023 General Elections: Victims of electoral violence await justice

The 2023 general elections in Nigeria were marred by violence, with at least 39 people losing their lives in different parts of the country.

States like Lagos, Abia, Nasarawa, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Osun, and Taraba were among the most affected, according to media reports on elections.

The theme of violence in the 2023 general elections

Speaking on the issue of electoral violence, the Chairman of Center for Democracy and Development Election Analysis Centre, Prof Adele Jinadu, said, "10.8% of observed polling units recorded violence and this was most pronounced in the northwest (19.9%) and south-south (11.6%) geopolitical zones with Bayelsa and Zamfara respectively."

Idayat Hassan, the Director of CDD, noted that the perpetrators' motive was to disrupt election processes. She stated, "Victims of this violence were voters, some of whom were disenfranchised as a result of having their ballot boxes snatched."

Despite the number of electoral violence witnessed across the country, none of the victims have come forward to push for the prosecution of those behind the act, a situation believed to be a demonstration of a lack of confidence in the system.

Addressing the issue of the lack of prosecution, a human rights activist, Maduabuchi Idam, said, "Ordinarily, without the electoral act, the act of violence is a crime under the Penal Code. Considering the electoral act 2022, the same offence as provided by the Penal Code was duplicated in the electoral act 2022 as electoral offences."

In response to the issue, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, said, "I have directed that all electoral offences case files across all State Commands be submitted to my office, where a committee has been established to centrally collate and coordinate the processing, preparatory to the commencement of prosecution process."

What you should know

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has also vowed to collaborate with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure electoral offenders are prosecuted.

Highlighting the electoral violence during the 2023 elections, the NPF said it arrested a total of 781 persons for various forms of offences during the just concluded general elections.

As victims await justice, it is imperative that the state ensures the perpetrators are brought to justice. The victims reserve the right to push for justice, and they can maintain a personal action against the act.