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The number of incidents of violence during the 2003 elections and the climate of intimidation throughout the election and pre-election period bring into question the legitimacy of the election process and, in particularly hard-hit areas such as the south and southeastern states, the very results of the elections. The same conclusions can be drawn about the 2004 local government elections in many areas. Reports by independent election observers and human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have all documented the direct link between violence and fraud, and the manner in which violence and intimidation were used as a central tool by political parties and candidates, especially the PDP, to gain or hold onto power.

A year has passed since the 2003 elections, and the scores of deaths of those who were killed for political gains may have been forgotten by all but their closest relatives. But the impunity which has so far protected the perpetrators should not be accepted by anyone concerned about democracy and human rights in Nigeria. The Nigerian government should take immediate steps to provide justice to the victims and their families. The first step is to launch thorough and independent investigations into all reports of political killings carried out during the election period, and to bring to justice those responsible. As noted in this report, election tribunals have been hearing complaints and grievances from various parties in the aftermath of the elections, but these have focused mostly on accusations of fraud, rigging and other electoral irregularities. If they are able to function independently, these election tribunals could provide an important channel for redress in cases of fraud and other malpractice, but are not a substitute for criminal prosecutions for acts of violence.

The Nigerian government and leaders of political parties should also put in place, in good time, effective measures to prevent incidents of violence in the next elections, scheduled for 2007. They should set up clear mechanisms for enforcing accountability, both within the structure of political parties, and in terms of judicial investigations and prosecution. Such mechanisms could include the creation of a taskforce to monitor and receive reports of political violence before and during future elections; the taskforce would report publicly on its findings which would then be used as a basis for investigations and prosecutions. State and local governments and leaders of political parties should also disarm without delay the youth groups that were created by politicians specifically to perpetrate acts of violence during the 2003 and 2004 elections.

Foreign governments, especially those which have close links with Nigeria, should address the issue of electoral violence explicitly with the Nigerian government by insisting that preventive strategies are put in place before 2007, offering to support these financially if necessary, or through training or other forms of assistance. Foreign governments should uphold the same standards for elections in Nigeria as they would in any other country. This means promptly and publicly denouncing electoral violence and intimidation whenever it takes place; training and encouraging future election observers to monitor and report on incidents of violence, and analyzing such reports in the light of political and human rights developments in the period leading up to elections; following up and monitoring progress in investigations and prosecutions in specific incidents; and continuing to press the Nigerian government to end impunity for these crimes, including in the periods between elections. Unless this is done, the perpetrators of these abuses will continue to believe that neither the Nigerian authorities nor the international community are concerned about the use of violence as a political tool, and will continue to attack and intimidate their opponents with impunity.


<<previous  |  index  |  next>>June 2004