Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T16:28:34.707Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Deadly elections: post-election violence in Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2018

Henrik Angerbrandt
Henrik Angerbrandt*
Affiliation:
The Nordic Africa Institute, Box 170, SE-751 47, Uppsala, Sweden and Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
*
Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Two decades after the ‘third wave of democratization’, extensive violence continues to follow elections in sub-Saharan Africa. Whereas national processes connected to pre-election violence have received increased scholarly attention, little is known of local dynamics of violence after elections. This article examines the 2011 Nigerian post-election violence with regard to the ways in which national electoral processes interweave with local social and political disputes. The most affected state, Kaduna State, has a history of violent local relations connected to which group should control politics and the state. It is argued that electoral polarisation aggravated national ethno-religious divisions that corresponded to the dividing line of the conflict in Kaduna. A rapid escalation of violence was facilitated by local social networks nurtured by ethno-religious grievances.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 56 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 143 - 167
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The author would like to thank Jesper Bjarnesen, Caitriona Dowd, and Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs for helpful comments and Kristina Eneroth for assistance with the maps. Thanks are also due to two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments. This article partly draws upon funding by the Swedish Research Council (grant number 421-2011-1438).

References

REFERENCES

Adebanwi, W. 2009. ‘Terror, territoriality and the struggle for indigeneity and citizenship in northern Nigeria’, Citizenship Studies 13, 4: 349–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
African Elections Database. 2011. <http://africanelections.tripod.com/ng_2011governor.html#Kaduna_State>, accessed 29.6.2017.,+accessed+29.6.2017.>Google Scholar
Amnesty International. 2011. Loss of Life, Insecurity and Impunity in the Run-up to Nigeria's Elections. London: Amnesty International.Google Scholar
Angerbrandt, H. 2015. ‘Religion, ethnicity and citizenship: demands for territorial self-determination in southern Kaduna, Nigeria’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 33, 2: 232–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bekoe, D. 2011. ‘Nigeria's 2011 elections: best run, but most violent.’ USIP Peace Brief. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.Google Scholar
Berenschot, W. 2011. Riot Politics: Hindu-Muslim violence and the Indian state. London: Hurst.Google Scholar
Boone, C. 2011. ‘Politically allocated land rights and the geography of electoral violence: the case of Kenya in the 1990s’, Comparative Political Studies 44, 10: 1311–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratton, M. 2008. ‘Vote buying and violence in Nigerian election campaigns’, Electoral Studies 27: 621–32CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bøås, M. & Dunn, K.. 2013. Politics of Origin in Africa: autochthony, citizenship and conflict. London: Zed Books.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coalition of Muslim Victims of 2011 Ethno-Religious Cleansing In Southern Kaduna. 2012. ‘Open letter on Peace and Reconciliation Committee on April 2011 post-election ethno-religious cleansing in Southern Kaduna’ to the governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa. 21 February.Google Scholar
Collier, P. & Vicente, P.C.. 2014. ‘Votes and violence: evidence from a field experiment in Nigeria’, The Economic Journal 124: F327–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Côté, I. & Mitchell, M.I.. 2015. ‘Deciphering ‘sons of the soil’ conflicts: a critical survey of the literature’, Ethnopolitics 16, 4: 333–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daxecker, U.E. 2014. ‘All quiet on election day? international election observation and incentives for pre-election violence in African elections’, Electoral Studies 34: 232–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esteban, J. & Schneider, G.. 2008. ‘Polarization and conflict: theoretical and empirical issues’, Journal of Peace Research 45, 2: 131–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EU Election Observation Mission Nigeria. 2007. Final Report: Presidential, National Assembly, Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly Elections. Brussels: European Union.Google Scholar
Fafchamps, M. & Vicente, P.C.. 2012. ‘Political violence and social networks: experimental evidence from a Nigerian election’, Journal of Development Economics 101: 27–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fjelde, H. & Höglund, K.. 2016. ‘Electoral institutions and electoral violence in sub-Saharan Africa’, British Journal of Political Science 46, 2: 297–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geschiere, P. & Jackson, S.. 2006. ‘Autochthony and the crisis of citizenship: democratization, decentralization, and the politics of belonging’, African Studies Review 49, 2: 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafner-Burton, E.M., Hyde, S.D. & Jablonski, R.S.. 2014. When do governments resort to election violence? British Journal of Political Science 44, 1: 149–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horowitz, D.L. 1985. Ethnic Groups in Conflict. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Horowitz, D.L. 2001. The Deadly Ethnic Riot. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2006. “They do not own this place”: government discrimination against “non-indigenes” in Nigeria. Washington: HRW.Google Scholar
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2007. Criminal Politics: violence, “godfathers” and corruption in Nigeria. Washington: HRW.Google Scholar
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2011. Nigeria: Post-election violence killed 800. <https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/05/16/nigeria-post-election-violence-killed-800>, accessed 29.6.2017.,+accessed+29.6.2017.>Google Scholar
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2013. “Leave Everything to God”: accountability for inter-communal violence in Plateau and Kaduna States, Nigeria. Washington, DC: HRW.Google Scholar
Höglund, K. 2009. ‘Electoral violence in conflict-ridden societies: concepts, causes, and consequences’, Terrorism and Political Violence 21, 3: 412–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Höglund, K., Jarstad, A.K. & Söderberg Kovacs, M.. 2009. ‘The predicament of elections in war-torn societies’, Democratization 16, 3: 530–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ibrahim, J. 2007. Nigeria's 2007 Elections: the fitful path to democratic citizenship. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.Google Scholar
Ibrahim, J. & Garuba, D.. 2010. ‘A study of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria’, Codesria Research Reports 1, 2010. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa.Google Scholar
Igwe, D.O. 2012. ‘The perception of electoral violence and democratization in Ibadan, Oyo State southwest Nigeria’, Democracy and Security 8, 1: 51–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
International Crisis Group (ICG). 2010. ‘Northern Nigeria: background to conflict’, Africa Report, no 168. Brussels: ICG.Google Scholar
International Crisis Group (ICG). 2011a. ‘Nigeria's elections: reversing the degeneration?’, Africa Briefing, no 79. Washington, DC: ICG.Google Scholar
International Crisis Group (ICG). 2011b. ‘Lessons from Nigeria's 2011 elections’, Africa Briefing, no 81. Washington: ICG.Google Scholar
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). 2011. Report on the 2011 General Elections. Abuja: INEC.Google Scholar
International IDEA. 2006. Nigeria: country report based on research and dialogue with political parties. Stockholm: International Institute for Electoral Assistance.Google Scholar
Joseph, R.A. 1987. Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Joseph, R.A. & Gillies, A.. 2010. ‘Nigeria's season of uncertainty’, Current History May 2010: 179–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaduna State Government 2012. White Paper on the Report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Post-Presidential Election Disturbances in Kaduna State, Kaduna: Kaduna State Government.Google Scholar
Kendhammer, B. 2010. ‘Talking ethnic but hearing multi-ethnic: the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria and durable multi-ethnic parties in the midst of violence’, Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 48, 1: 48–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kew, D. 2010. ‘Nigerian elections and the neopatrimonial paradox: in search of the social contract’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 28, 4: 499–521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klaus, K. & Mitchell, M.I.. 2015. ‘Land grievances and the mobilization of electoral violence evidence from Côte d'Ivoire and Kenya’, Journal of Peace Research, 52, 5: 622–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klopp, J.M. & Zuern, E.. 2007. ‘The politics of violence in democratization - lessons from Kenya and South Africa’, Comparative Politics 39, 2: 127–46.Google Scholar
Laakso, L. 2007. ‘Insights into electoral violence in Africa’, in Basedau, M., Erdmann, G. & Mehler, A., eds. Votes, Money and Violence: political parties and sub-Saharan Africa. Uppsala: The Nordic Africa Institute, 224–52.Google Scholar
Lewis, P. 2011. ‘Nigeria votes: more openness, more conflict’, Journal of Democracy 22, 4: 60–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller, S.D. 2011. ‘Dying to win: elections, political violence, and institutional decay in Kenya’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 29, 1: 99–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI). 2012. Final Report on the 2011 Nigerian General Elections. Washington, DC: NDI.Google Scholar
Nigeria First. 2007. ‘Inauguration speech by President Umar Musa Yar'Adua', <http://allafrica.com/stories/200705300790.html>, accessed 29.6.2017., accessed 29.6.2017.' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Nigeria+First.+2007.+‘Inauguration+speech+by+President+Umar+Musa+Yar'Adua',+,+accessed+29.6.2017.>Google Scholar
Obi, C. 2011. ‘Taking back our democracy? the trials and travails of Nigerian elections since 1999’, Democratization 18, 2: 366–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Office of Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan. n.d.[2011] ‘The violent crisis in Kafanchan and its environs following the April 16th 2011 presidential election’, memorandum.Google Scholar
Onwudiwe, E. & Berwind-Dart, C.. 2010. ‘Breaking the cycle of electoral violence in Nigeria’, Special Report, 263. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.Google Scholar
Opitz, C., Fjelde, H. & Höglund, K.. 2013. ‘Including peace: the influence of electoral management bodies on electoral violence’, Journal of Eastern African Studies 7, 4: 713–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orji, N. & Uzodi, N.. 2012. The 2011 post election violence in Nigeria. Abuja: Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre.Google Scholar
Rawlence, B. & Albin-Lackey, C.. 2007. ‘Nigeria's 2007 general elections: democracy in retreat’, African Affairs 106, 424: 497–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reynal-Querol, M. 2002. ‘Ethnicity, political systems, and civil wars’, Journal of Conflict Resolution 46, 1: 29–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salehyan, I. & Linebarger, C.. 2015. ‘Elections and social conflict in Africa, 1990–2009’, Studies in Comparative International Development 50, 1: 23–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scacco, A. 2017. Anatomy of a Riot: participation in ethnic violence in Nigeria. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Shalalu, B. 2012. ‘Claims of post-election ethno-religious cleansing - a Southern Kaduna perspective’ <http://nigeriavillagesquare.com/forum/articles-comments/69346-claims-post-election-ethno-religious-cleansing-southern-kaduna-perspective.html>, accessed 29.6.2017.,+accessed+29.6.2017.>Google Scholar
Simmons, E. 2014. ‘Grievances do matter in mobilization’, Theory and Society 43: 513–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sisk, T.D. 2012. ‘Evaluating election-related violence in Africa: Nigeria and Sudan in comparative perspective, in Bekoe, D., ed, Voting in Fear: electoral violence in sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 39–74.Google Scholar
Staniland, P. 2014. ‘Violence and democracy’, Comparative Politics 47, 1: 99–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Straus, S. & Taylor, C.. 2012. ‘Democratization and electoral violence in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1990–2007’, in Bekoe, D., ed, Voting in Fear: electoral violence in sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 15–38.Google Scholar
Suberu, R.T. 2007. ‘Nigeria's muddled elections’, Journal of Democracy 18, 4: 95–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, C., Pevehouse, J. & Straus, S.. 2017. ‘Perils of pluralism: electoral violence and incumbency in sub-Saharan Africa’, Journal of Peace Research 54, 3: 397–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, S. 2004. Votes and Violence: electoral competition and ethnic riots in India. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Newspapers

Daily Sun, Lagos; Daily Trust, Abuja; Leadership, Abuja; Next, Lagos; People's Daily, Abuja; Tribune, Ibadan; Vanguard, Lagos.Google Scholar

Interviews

Kujiat, Samuel, Kaduna State Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Kaduna, 2.2.2012.Google Scholar
Kure, Emmanuel, Pastor, Throne Room Ministry, Kafanchan, 9.2.2012.Google Scholar
Lyamgohn, Rahila James, Christian Association of Nigeria Women's Wing, Kaduna, 7.2.2012.Google Scholar
Makarfi, Jafa'arau, Kaduna State Chairman, Jama'atu Nasril Islam, Kaduna, 11.2.2012.Google Scholar
Secretary Officer of the Jema'a Emirate, Kafanchan, 9.2.2012.Google Scholar