A recent report published by the United States government’s Department of State has accused security agencies in Nigeria, including the Nigerian Army and the Department of State Services (DSS), of influencing the outcome of last year’s polls which saw the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari’s return to power.
According to the report, which the Department of State announced was also backed by evidence, the Army and the DSS in Nigeria abused their powers by intimidating voters, election observers, as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), during the general elections in February of 2019.
Intimidation and Corruption in Nigeria
The 44-paged 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Nigeria read in part: “There was evidence [that] military and security services intimidated voters, electoral officials, and election observers. In addition violence in several states contributed to lower voter participation and added to the sentiment the army is a tool of the ruling party in many parts of the country, particularly in the South.”
“For example, widespread violence and military involvement in electoral processes, including during the vote collation process, significantly scarred the governorship election in Rivers State. Additionally several of INEC’s resident electoral commissioners reported DSS operatives intimidated them when the RECs attempted to protect voting materials. Some RECs reported security service personnel visited them multiple times prior to the elections.”
Noting widespread corruption during the election process, it also added: “There were reports that corruption, including vote-buying, were historically high during the 2018-19 electoral season. Examples of vote-buying were apparent in the re-run of the Osun (State) gubernatorial election in September 2018, and during the Kano (State) gubernatorial election on March 9 (2019).”
Nigerian Judiciary Complacent in Corruption
Leaving no stone unturned in its report, the US government also accused the judiciary of playing a part in the corrupt practices that take place in Nigeria. It noted that while the judiciary is supposed to be independent, court officials are poorly paid thereby making them susceptible to financial manipulation.
“Understaffing, underfunding, inefficiency, and corruption prevented the judiciary from functioning adequately. There are no continuing education requirements for attorneys, and police officers were often assigned to serve as prosecutors. Judges frequently failed to appear for trials. In addition, the salaries of court officials were low, and they often lacked proper equipment and training.”
A further breakdown of the report also showed that there was a widespread public perception that judges oftentimes failed to render impartial judgments because: “The executive and legislative branches, as well as business interests, exerted influence and pressure in civil cases.”
Opposition Reacts
Speaking to a reporter from The Punch, Prince Uche Secondus, National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), whose candidate came in second place to President Muhammadu Buhari, said that the report had vindicated its position on the election.
“We have always been saying it. Our members were maimed, killed, harassed and even burnt. The security agents did not do anything while the crime against our members was being carried out. The report is the voice of the people which the government thought it had silenced.”
The party had infamously accused the ruling party in Nigeria of influencing the electoral process of 2019, with its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, contesting the results before an election tribunal.
This story is part of our new series on Nigeria where we analyse electoral reform in the country ahead of the next general elections in 2023.
