By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja

An advocacy platform, the Electoral Forum, has bemoaned the poor implementation of previous investigative panel reports on electoral violence.

It lamented the situation, saying that the delay in the execution of the recommendations constituted a remote cause of violence before, during and after elections.

This position was highlighted by a member of the Forum and erstwhile National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, at a policy dialogue with the theme, ‘Citizens’ Rights and Impact of Insecurity on the 2023 General Elections

The event was organised by the Electoral Hub, a subsidiary of the Initiative for Research, Innovation and Advocacy in Development (IRIAD), with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) in Abuja.

Identifying other reasons for electoral violence, Ibeanu listed voter suppression, logistic failure, fake news and hate speech, loss of confidence in the judiciary, impunity and failure to bring culprits to book, rising expectations from the electorates, among others.

The ex-electoral umpire stated these at a policy dialogue on “Citizens’ Rights and Impact of Insecurity on the 2023 General Elections” organised by the Electoral Hub with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) yesterday in Abuja.

He said, “One of the most causes of electoral violence in Nigeria, is the fact that the reports of investigation panels are never implemented. Practically every election in Nigeria has had this shroud of concern about violence around it. And it’s not just the general elections even small by-elections.

“So these have persisted. And as we move to the general election, you can understand why people are concerned that either during the election or in the aftermath, there may be violence, but what exactly is electronic violence and why so and why does it occur?”

To tackle electoral violence effectively in the country, Ibeanu advocated the establishment of Election Administration Agency (EAA), and a system for holding people accountable for their actions.

On his part, a Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Professor, Adele Jinadu, blamed what he described as ‘failure of the state’ for the rising spate of banditry, insurgency and other security challenges in the country..

According to him, law and order has not effectively been used to protect the citizen.

“This is not something that is new, it has been increasing over the years, because people have lost faith in the ability of the state to provide common basic things, and security for all that matter.”

“So, my conclusion therefore is that yes we should be concerned about if INEC is prepared, but we should be more concerned about what can you and I do to improve the environment within which elections are being conducted because that environment is beyond the control of INEC,” he added.

Earlier, the Executive Director of Electoral Hub, Princess Hamman-Obels, explained that the policy roundtable was organised to proffer solution to the challenge of pre and post-electoral violence.

She, therefore, called on Nigerians not to allow themselves to be swayed by money politics.

Hamman-Obels also made a strong case for the inclusion of women and people with disabilities in politics and governance structures.