Paramilitary Forces and Nigeria’s Elections, 2015-2023

Abstract

There are theoretical and political debates on what should be the role and the extent of deployment of paramilitary bodies and security forces in the electoral process. These theoretical and political debates are propelled and compelled by the fact that the issue of security during the implementation of the electoral process poses major problems to new and emerging democracies worldwide. Since the advent of democratic government in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, there have been various experiences and performances in the participation of paramilitary institutions in electoral process. However, extant literature has not adequately addressed the roles of paramilitary agencies in Nigeria’s elections particularly those conducted in 2015, 2019 and 2023. Besides, existing studies have not detailed the impediments that marred the involvement of paramilitary forces in those elections. This is the major gap this study intends to fill. Within this context, this study has as its main goal a rigorous analysis of the role of paramilitary institutions in the electoral process in Nigeria, using the 2015, 2019 and 2023 general elections as a case study. The data used for this study were collected through primary and secondary sources. While primary data was gathered from officers of paramilitary agencies who participated in the 2015, 2019 and 2023 general elections through oral interviews, the secondary sources were obtained from the review of related literature. The major findings of the research are: that the 2015, 2019 and 2023 general elections were to a large extent successful largely as a result of the efforts of paramilitary security agencies who worked in collaboration with sister security bodies to provide adequate security. The research recommends that the areas that recorded significant improvement should be maintained. At the same time, challenges experienced by paramilitary agencies during the 2015, 2019 and 2023 general elections should be looked into in future elections.