Unveiling the Violence in Nigeria’s ‘Peaceable’ Presidential Elections

By Olajide Adelana, Kabir Yusuf, Yekeen Akinwale and Ekemini Simon

Earlier than Nigeria’s presidential elections final 12 months, legislator Alhassan Doguwa instructed raucous supporters what would occur to those that didn’t vote for his dominant All Progressives Congress celebration.

“To God who made me, on election day, you have to vote for APC or we’ll cope with you,” he warned to cheers captured on video. “I’m saying it once more: On Election Day, you both vote for APC or we cope with you.”

Police in northern Nigeria mentioned quickly after that his threats weren’t idle — he was charged with election-related murders of a number of individuals. The deaths have been removed from alone among the many a whole lot of violent incidents throughout the nation within the weeks main as much as the election.

Whereas the Nigerian authorities’s Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee claimed voting was not marred by intimidation, a 10-month-long Heart for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ) examination with 20 journalists discovered widespread incidents of brutality across the nation.

Authorities paperwork, worldwide observers and dozens of interviews carried out by CCIJ all through the nation reveal a sample of violence that crippled voter turnout and raises troubling considerations about future elections.

Upwards of greater than 100 individuals reportedly died in election-related violence, in line with studies by impartial observers. But the federal government’s election fee discounted these deaths and quite a few accidents.

In its report launched in February 2024, a 12 months after balloting, the elections fee acknowledged, “These elections have been notable for his or her peaceable and orderly conduct, marked by the absence of serious situations of violence.”

It praised safety employees, political celebration officers, election observers and the media for guaranteeing the security of voters.

CCIJ reviewed hundreds of polling models outcomes on IREV and located greater than 2,000 polling stations throughout the nation that reported their ballots couldn’t be added to official tallies due to irregularities. The main cause, affecting about half the polling stations: violence.

The result’s that greater than 1.1 million registered voters’ ballots couldn’t be counted within the election, in line with authorities information.

“Violence is a lingering function of elections in Nigeria,” Chatham Home reported the 12 months earlier than the presidential elections. The London-based NGO outlined how Nigeria’s democracy since 1960 has been “severely weakened” by civil battle and years of army rule. For the reason that finish of British colonial rule in 1960, Nigerians have spent about half that point below army rule.

Voting has declined in current elections, with observers pointing to fewer civil liberties, mistrust of corrupt political leaders and weak democratic establishments.

The 2023 presidential election – the seventh because the final interval of army rule led to 1999 – included irregularities the place quite a few voting websites didn’t report outcomes due to violence, lack of correct balloting gear and different causes.

That included polling stations within the northern Nigerian state of Kano, close to the nation’s border with Niger, the place the legislator Alhassan Doguwa made his fiery speech within the Hausa language to supporters.

Mr Doguwa was the APC’s majority chief within the ninth Home of Representatives, a high-ranking place, and a member of the identical celebration as Bola Tinubu, who gained the presidential election in February 2023 for his first time period.

Following the election, Mr Doguwa was arrested by police in reference to murders within the city of Tudun Wada. He denied wrongdoing, countering that he was solely strongly encouraging voters to help his celebration, and mentioned the costs have been politically motivated.

The Kano State Authorities later dropped expenses towards him. He then sued the state authorities and police for bias and wrongfully accusing him of homicide and gained N25 million.

Some worldwide observers have estimated that greater than 100 individuals have been murdered in reference to the election. The Nigeria Election Violence Tracker maintained by the Centre for Democracy and Improvement and Armed Battle Location and Occasion Knowledge counted 109 election-related deaths in early 2023. The Incident Centre for Election Atrocities put the quantity increased, at 137.

CCIJ discovered not less than 29 have been arrested in reference to election-related violence in Kano alone, and a whole lot of others for election-related offences.

The official polling station studies examined by CCIJ provide a starker image of the consequences of violence than what authorities officers introduced throughout the elections.

CCIJ analysed statements state-by-state made by election officers, combing by way of recordings of election outcomes bulletins posted to YouTube by Channels Tv, which live-streamed the occasions. CCIJ discovered officers mentioned publicly that votes weren’t counted for not less than 1,500 polling websites all through Nigeria. However the authorities’s personal paperwork present greater than 2,000 weren’t counted due to irregularities and violence.

Whereas officers saying outcomes talked about violence and overvoting as the explanation why ballots weren’t counted, they didn’t present figures. Nevertheless, the federal government paperwork confirmed violence was the one main cause.

Each the general public statements and the paperwork mentioned greater than 1.1 million registered voters have been doubtlessly affected as a result of votes at their polling websites weren’t counted.

CCIJ repeatedly sought interviews with INEC about violence and irregularities. Earlier than publication of this story, the company responded with a brief written assertion.

“The Fee will proceed to enhance its processes and procedures after each election,” INEC wrote to CCIJ. It didn’t reply to further questions.

In its prolonged report, the electoral physique wrote that “most often” it addressed challenges involving the late arrival of election supplies at some polling websites, insufficient safety personnel, violence and intimidation.

The company, in its report, mentioned the election “is maybe the perfect deliberate and most progressive election in Nigeria.”

“The election witnessed the best variety of eligible voters and voting places throughout the nation with the participation of over a million election responsibility officers and deployment of huge logistic necessities together with over 100,000 automobiles and about 4,000 boats protected by gunboats,” in line with the company.

Together with murders, there have been numerous incidents of intimidation and irregularities that prevented individuals from casting ballots.

On Election Day in 2023, within the district of Chiranchi, far south of Tudun Wada, the place the Kano governor alleged Mr Daguwa was linked with the homicide of 15 individuals, 30-year-old Muhammad Ibrahim was in a line at his polling station, excited to vote for the primary time.

The morning’s peace was shattered. A wounded man ran by way of the group, pursued by a violent group armed with sticks and knives.

Mr Ibrahim recalled a bystander requested if he supposed to forged his vote for the APC.

Mr Ibrahim mentioned the person instructed him, “They’re focusing on those that need to vote for the NNPP,” the New Nigeria Folks’s Get together, which was among the many main opposition events. Mr Ibrahim mentioned he was amongst those that ran, fearful for his or her security.

CCIJ couldn’t confirm claims that the APC was linked with the menacing group that chased away voters. Police declined to touch upon incidents of violence within the state of Kano.

In the meantime in Gwale, Kano, about six miles east of the place the 15 individuals have been allegedly murdered in Tudun Wada, journalist Ashiru Umar recounted witnessing threats to voters.

“They have been intimidating all voters that weren’t supporting APC,” Mr Umar mentioned, including that, he was attacked and crushed by thugs for conducting interviews for election tales and sustained accidents that required greater than a month of medical therapy.

“We managed to depart the world. All this occurred whereas the safety brokers have been watching.”

Election officers additionally confronted violence

Aisha Abubakar, who served because the impartial election fee’s presiding officer in Kano, mentioned thugs attacked her employees earlier than voting started, leading to extreme accidents to 2 colleagues.

“There was a miscommunication relating to the place we might arrange election supplies,” she mentioned. “We have been attempting to make clear, then instantly, political thugs mentioned we have been attempting to govern the method, and so they began beating my polling unit officers.”

Within the electoral fee’s filings reviewed by CCIJ, not less than 16 polling stations in Kano reported violence and didn’t rely ballots for a number of thousand voters. In lots of different situations, ballot employees didn’t give causes for why no ballots have been counted at their places.

And Kano was removed from alone from studies of intimidation.

VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA’S LARGEST CITY

Bina Efidi mentioned she barely escaped dying when she went to vote.

She went to vote at her polling station within the Surulere space of Lagos, a vibrant part with bars, golf equipment and a nationwide arts theatre.

“Once I went there, voting had already commenced, individuals have been already within the queue and I went for verification to make certain that it was my polling unit,” Ms Efidi instructed CCIJ.

However then, she mentioned, about 20 youths have been standing by the polling station on Dipolubi Road and commenced shifting to considered one of its exits. They started taking pictures weapons and disrupting voting.

Ms Efidi famous that she was hit on the proper aspect of her face. “I used to be listening to gunshots,” she mentioned, “I assumed I had been hit by a bullet.”

Despite the fact that she couldn’t bear in mind what sort of weapon was used to hit her face, she recalled how: “I held my face and blood was already dripping down; individuals have been working helter-skelter and me too, I needed to arise and search for assist as a result of I had been injured.”

Later she was taken to the hospital and received stitches for her cuts. On her means again house that very same day, Ms Efidi noticed that voting had resumed on the polling station.

“Once I noticed that, I felt that this was what I needed to do to make my vote rely, and regardless of all my struggles,” she mentioned. “I needed to forged my vote.”

Ms Efidi says she didn’t know whether or not any political celebration was linked with the attackers or who was behind the violence.

“I’m not a politician, I solely got here out to vote. I don’t know who sponsored them however it was apparent that they have been touts or thugs,” she mentioned.

Ms Efidi lamented that there have been no safety officers to stop the assault. Nonetheless, she hopes the Nigerian authorities will increase safety for future elections so voting can be “free and truthful.”

A couple of miles north, in Lagos’ Fadeyi neighbourhood, Ayo Oladiran, a resident there, mentioned many citizens have been chased away from their election day polling website.

Ms Oladiran recounted how youths generally known as Space Boys went to the polling station and demanded that those that wouldn’t vote for ruling celebration candidates ought to go away.

“Space Boys got here and mentioned these that won’t vote for Tinubu ought to go away and Igbos ought to return to their land,” Ms Oladiran mentioned. “They mentioned in case you are Igbo and from Anambra, return to your state.” Igbo individuals are primarily from southeast Nigeria, together with the state of Anambra.

They have been largely unarmed. “Though one was carrying a stick, they usually don’t must show weapons as a result of their repute alone instills concern within the native residents,” in line with Ms Oladiran.

Safety employees didn’t attempt to cease the threats, she mentioned. “Cops have been simply there, not shifting,” she mentioned. “They didn’t do something.”

A couple of miles additional north, in Lagos’ Orile-Oshodi ward, journalist Oluwakemi Adelagun, who works for Premium Instances, considered one of Nigeria’s main information retailers, checked on a polling station inside St. John Main College.

She visited shortly earlier than 2 p.m. however noticed no voters regardless of a whole lot registered to forged ballots there. She took {a photograph} to doc the scene.

Ms Adelagun requested an election official about voter turnout, and an unidentified man began cursing her. She defined she was a journalist reporting on voter turnout. A police officer was watching close by, and she or he believes his presence is the rationale the incident didn’t flip violent.

Ultimately, the 2 polling stations contained in the Methodist college reported 75 ballots forged out of greater than 1,400 registered voters.

Then, within the Festac part of Lagos, resident Oluchi Anyawu left house together with her household to vote however they have been chased away by Agberos, the title given to youths who work at motor parks, the place individuals get rides on buses and minivans.

“We weren’t even allowed to achieve the polling unit,” Ms Anyawu mentioned. “There have been quite a few Agberos within the space, insisting that solely individuals from a sure tribe might vote, which was fairly unfair. We’re equals in Nigeria.”

VIOLENCE IN THE SOUTH-EAST

A pair hundred miles southeast of Lagos, assailants disrupted voting within the Obio-Akpor a part of Rivers State.

Abhulimhen Thompson, the elections officer at a polling unit, reported in a authorities submitting submitted to the nation’s computerized balloting system that they have been thugs employed by political events who have been shedding contested elections.

Though Mr Thompson and his colleagues escaped unharmed throughout the assault, thugs took away the presidential and federal legislative election poll outcomes from the polling website.

“All delicate and non-sensitive electoral supplies we took with us have been scattered, destroyed, and snatched away,” he mentioned.

About 60 miles east, in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State, voters grew to become angered when election officers didn’t present up at polling stations.

Mahmood Yakubu, the Nationwide Election Fee chairman, mentioned the incidents concerned 140 polling stations, and safety employees have been unable to calm protesters. INEC rescheduled elections within the affected areas for the following day however not everybody returned to forged their ballots.

“I couldn’t vote due to the disaster,” mentioned Ugochukwu Godwin, a voter in Yenagoa’s sixth ward. “The subsequent day, I didn’t even trouble as a result of distance from my residence to the polling unit.” Mr Godwin recounted that authorities elevated safety, however that didn’t give him confidence.

“I used to be fearful for my security,” he mentioned. “I assumed it wiser to be protected than sorry, so my household and I stayed again.”

All through Bayelsa State, voter turnout was low, with solely 16 per cent of the multiple million eligible voters casting ballots. Within the Nembe space of the state, 4 people have been charged with terrorism and selling violence in reference to the deaths of three individuals within the days main as much as the presidential election, together with the homicide of Queen Kieriseiye, in line with information accounts confirmed by CCIJ.

One supply instructed CCIJ that Ms Kieriseiye was pregnant on the time of her dying.

Then in Idanre, Ondo State, Owoeye Beatrice mentioned violence interrupted voting at her polling station at a maternity heart within the metropolis’s Alade Atosin neighbourhood.

Ms Beatrice mentioned she suspected the incidents stemmed from “previous scores settled” amongst loyalists of rival political events.

Ultimately, Ms Beatrice polling station noticed 36 per cent of its registered voters forged ballots. That exceeded the nationwide price of 27 per cent voting within the presidential election.

A DEATH IN AKWA IBOM

Again in south-south, 45-year-old Uduak Udo left his house early to vote, and to make sure ballots at his sixth ward voting station weren’t lacking in Etim Ekpo, Akwa Ibom State. Mr Udo’s spouse, Florence, mentioned neighbourhood thugs went to polls and introduced that supporters of the Peoples Democratic Get together wouldn’t be allowed to vote.

Violence ensued amongst supporters of various political factions.

She ran house solely to study later that her husband was lifeless. Mrs Udo’s widow mentioned eyewitnesses instructed her that supporters of different political events had killed him and that safety employees couldn’t rescue him.

“Those that killed him nonetheless transfer round freely with out justice,” Mrs Udo mentioned. “I don’t assume I’ll ever take part in any future election or permit my youngsters to ever take part. Nigeria’s elections have turn out to be battlegrounds the place you have to kill to outlive.”

Ultimately, no votes from the world’s 11 polling websites have been counted due to “disruption” main authorities to declare an emergency.

Elsewhere on the town, youths armed with axes, cutlasses, and bottles attacked the election officers at one Ward 6 village corridor voting website, inflicting panic and forcing voters and election officers to flee.

Ime Ukpong, a neighborhood legislative council member, tried to rally election officers and voters to return however attackers shot at him.

“These individuals weren’t utilizing masks. It was a broad daylight disruption. However up to now, nobody has been arrested,” Mr Ukpong instructed CCIJ.

INTIMIDATION, ARRESTS, MISSING BALLOTS

Rashida Owuda, a political scientist and lecturer on the Prince Abubakar Audu College, greater than 300 miles northeast of Lagos, mentioned the “overt presence of safety forces” within the Ayingba neighbourhood subsequent to the college discouraged voters from going to the polls.

“They made it look as if it was a battle zone, and that ambiance made individuals really feel intimidated,” she mentioned. “The mere presence of the army was sufficient to cease some girls from going out to vote.”

Mrs Owuda cited this as proof of the low voter turnout within the space. “When you take a look at the whole variety of individuals registered and those that voted, there’s a nice disparity. And that’s as a result of individuals felt intimidated.”

Out of an estimated 27,000 eligible voters in Ayingba, solely 12 per cent voted, in line with the election fee’s knowledge. Twenty-two of 73 polling stations additionally didn’t report any ballots forged partly on account of violence.

Others complained about issues with voter registration.

Odiji Okpanachi, who teaches political science on the identical college as Mrs Owuda, mentioned the federal government mishandled his voter registration when he moved to work on the college. The dearth of the cardboard prevented him from voting.

“Sadly, I didn’t vote within the final election as a result of we’re in a rustic the place individuals register as voters however they by no means get their playing cards” that establish them as eligible to vote, he mentioned. “I’m a type of people who didn’t get their voter playing cards.”

He lastly received his registration card properly after the presidential election.

Charles Oke, a PDP ward chairman in Mbaitoli, mentioned ballots and different election supplies have been unavailable for voters at his polling station. Mr Oke known as the election unfair as a result of voting was compromised.

In Rivers State, a broadly circulated video confirmed policemen in a Toyota pickup truck seizing ballots.

Stakeholder Democracy Community, a nonprofit, mentioned the video was disturbing, and its employees witnessed comparable incidents in Rivers State.

However Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokesperson within the state, mentioned they arrested 4 officers for interfering with the 2023 presidential election.

“Rivers State Police Command has arrested and brought into custody one officer and three Inspectors for interrogation. The police pick-up van within the trending video has additionally been impounded for a radical investigation,” Ms Iringe-Koko mentioned on the time.

Earlier final December, CCIJ contacted Ms Iringe-Koko for updates on the arrests. She declined to touch upon the case.

Mark Usulor, the election fee’s head of voter schooling and publicity in Rivers State, mentioned election supplies have been deployed to all polling stations throughout the State. He blamed the violence on thugs and politicians clashing amongst themselves. Mr Usulor declined to debate particulars about particular polling stations the place ballots weren’t counted.

INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS CONCERNED

Worldwide observers raised considerations about violence suppressing voting. For example, Human Rights Watch issued a dispatch, saying, “Nigeria’s Elections Stay Dangerous for Many Residents.”

In the identical vein, Amnesty Worldwide known as for the federal government “to research widespread violence unleashed on voters in components of Lagos, Rivers, Kano, Edo and Delta states. These behind assaults on voters, journalists and electoral officers should be dropped at justice by way of truthful trials.”

The USA Embassy in Nigeria mentioned it was “deeply troubled by the disturbing acts of violent voter intimidation” in Lagos, Kano, and different states. It later joined different “worldwide observers in urging the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) to enhance voting processes and technical parts that skilled flaws in that voting spherical.”

The US embassy additionally known as for Nigerians to work collectively “to strengthen the nation’s vibrant democracy.”

On its half, the Worldwide Republican Institute and the Nationwide Democratic Institute famous that observers witnessed suppression, violence and intimidation in not less than 18 states.

“In Abia and Bayelsa states, violent disruptions resulted within the suspension of voting in a number of hundred polling models,” they reported. “Lagos suffered a number of assaults all through the day, together with an assault on a collation centre, doubtlessly disenfranchising a lot of voters.”

For the European Union Election Remark Mission in Nigeria, the “voting was critically delayed by the late arrival of delicate supplies.” It additionally criticised procedures for transparently tabulating outcomes.

It’s additionally towards this background that Ezenwa Nwagwu, the top of Companions for Electoral Reform, mentioned intimidation and violence weren’t the one causes for low voter turnout. “Nigerians are disenchanted by the life-style of elected political officeholders when many reside in abject poverty,” Mr Nwagwu mentioned in an interview with CCIJ. “Democracy is struggling a deficit. It’s not fulfilling for most individuals.”

“IT BROKE MY HEART”

On election day in southeastern Imo State, Joseph Ikenna recalled seeing thugs amongst a crowd as early as 8:30 a.m. at a village corridor polling station in Njaba.

“Vote for the APC or go away,” they ordered, with considered one of them brandishing a firearm,” Mr Ikenna recalled.

Nigeria’s election fee didn’t rely votes from that polling station due to irregularities and Imo State recorded probably the most variety of votes that have been put aside due to violence and irregularities.

“It broke my coronary heart that every one our sacrifices that day have been in useless,” Mr Ikenna mentioned. “A few of my family members who travelled all the way in which from Kano and Lagos again house to vote by no means had their votes counted as a result of, in the long run, INEC (the federal government election fee) needed to cancel the election within the unit on account of disruption.”

The occasion devastated him, saying that, “I don’t assume we’ll ever come out to vote in any of Nigeria’s elections once more.”

Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer based mostly in Lagos, mentioned there’s an choice out there for voters who confronted voter suppression. He mentioned such people with considerations about voting-related violence, intimidation and different issues can contact his legislation agency, Inibehe Effiong Chambers, for potential authorized recourse.

Methodology

This investigation is a part of the CCIJ-led undertaking on Nigeria’s 2023 presidential elections. This report noticed 20 journalists investigating widespread incidents of brutality, voter suppression and intimidation across the nation.

The report entails on-the-ground reporting throughout a number of states in Nigeria, monitoring down victims of violence, and households of deceased individuals. It additionally consists of a number of interviews with eyewitnesses and months-long of information scraping.

To look at the scope of violence, irregularities and different causes that led authorities to not rely votes at sure polling stations within the 2023 presidential election, CCIJ downloaded all of the studies filed by polling stations all through Nigeria with the federal government’s Unbiased Nationwide Election Fee’s on-line database, IREV.

The paperwork have been downloaded by CCIJ in July 2023 utilizing Python, a pc programming language. Most of the studies included officers making notations by hand. The handwritten notes have been extracted utilizing Google Pinpoint’s handwriting recognition capabilities.

In Nigeria, kind EC 40G is utilized by election officers at a polling website once they declare voting on the location is cancelled — which implies votes won’t be counted. The shape consists of classes for election officers to point why votes weren’t counted, together with overvoting — when extra ballots are forged than there are registered voters for a polling website — and violence.

CCIJ carried out a complete key phrase utilizing Google Pinpoint to cull the paperwork, utilizing phrases associated to why votes weren’t counted, together with “cancel,” “cancelled,” “cancelled,” “EC40G,” “no end result,” “overvoting,” “disruption,” “no outcomes,” “violence,” “disruption,” “over voting” and “no election.”

CCIJ reviewed every doc flagged in these searches, setting apart false positives, to make sure no laptop errors affected the overview.

The paperwork have been then extracted right into a spreadsheet for detailed evaluation.

CCIJ additionally discovered paperwork uploaded to IREV that have been clean papers with handwritten notes stating “No election” or “No end result” with out specifying a cause.

INEC has since eliminated many of those paperwork from its IREV web site.

CCIJ additionally obtained INEC’s 2023 knowledge on registered voters for every polling location. which was printed on their web site however later eliminated.

To evaluate the influence of violence and irregularities on registered voters, CCIJ used the 2022 registered voter knowledge together with the studies of polling stations the place votes weren’t counted within the presidential election, enabling CCIJ to quantify the potential impact of cancellations.

This story was produced with the help of MuckRock and the Filecoin Basis for the Decentralized Net.