2023 polls: 24 deaths, 238 cases of violence recorded – Report

From Okwe Obi, Abuja

Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) has released a scalding report which suggested that 238 cases of violence and 28 deaths were recorded during the 2023 general elections.

It noted that, while 98 of the total violence occurred in the February 25 presidential election, 140 were reported in the March governorship and state House of Assembly elections.

KDI Executive Director, Bukola Idowu, stated this during the public presentation of the 2023 election violence report, yesterday, in Abuja and supported by the National Endowment for Democracy and International Republican Institute (IRI).

Idowu said: “In total, we had about 238 cases of election violence, which is spread across the country, and not good enough; and each of them has perpetrators and victims, close to 900, and, at the same time, reported 24 cases of electoral deaths.”

As part of its recommendation, Idowu urged security agencies to predicate their deployment on early warning systems, stressing that it would be one of the ways to mitigate electoral violence.

He, also, called on the government to give zero tolerance to illegal proliferation of arms during the electoral process, saying recruitment and arming of thugs played a huge role in electoral violence recorded in the sample states.

It recommended: “The CSOs and the media need to pay close attention and hugely condemn the subtle abuse of power by the incumbent government which places restrictions on political groups from using public venues for their campaigns. It is increasingly becoming a major causative factor of electoral violence.

“INEC, the Police and Federal Ministry of Justice to ensure the prosecution of electoral offenders as this will serve as deterrent to other electoral offenders. This also underscores the urgent need for the Electoral Offences Commission.

“The independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) need to rise up to the occasion to prosecute offenders involved in vote buying and selling, as this will serve as a deterrent to others,” he said.