Benue State University, Makurdi

The Judiciary, Legislature and Electoral Violence in Nigeria: Assessing The 2019 Elections

BATURE, Elizabeth Aishatu^*
The restoration of democratic rule in Africa's largest country in May 1999 should have brought a significant level of change in the politics of this vast nation of 200 million people. Corruption, electoral malpractice and political violence, the usual causes of governmental instability, have remained intractable despite a deluge of reform initiatives championed through the Legislature and the judiciary. While the benefits of most institutional reforms have been difficult to measure, there is the relative successful reform of the judiciary, which has led to the institution's gradual emergence as a courageous and impartial arbiter in intra-elite electoral disputes in the federation. The transformation of the judiciary is amply demonstrated by the large number of judicial pronouncements that have upturned the results of several flawed elections. Whether sponsored or spontaneous, election-related conflicts are distinctive, signifying discontent around tightly interwoven social and economic concerns. In Nigeria, these concerns include dissatisfaction with government performance, competition for resources, inter- and intragroup distrust, joblessness, and anger at an abundance of unscrupulous politicians with little respect for due process or rule of law. This is particularly true in countries like Nigeria where chronic instability, poor governance, communal disputes, gang-related fighting, and violence sponsored by power brokers fosters long-standing grievances. Economic incentives, pre-existing anger, and opportunistic desires for revenge can be potent incentives for violence. Fresh anger at election injustices under the aegis of a government still perceived as promising only modest accountability for electoral crimes is a worrisome factor. The legislature is to revitalize reformist laws and the judiciary is to actualize such laws in order to create a balance in the nation. This might help in mitigating against all forms of electoral violence.

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