The build-up to the 1964 general election and the election itself were some of the infamous moments in Nigeria’s political history. As the election loomed, the mating dance between the major parties engendered new alliances. Disagreements between the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), especially over the 1962/1963 census, brought their long-standing alliance to a halt. NPC would go on to find a new and pliant partnership with the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), formed and led by Chief Samuel Akintola, while NCNC consolidated with the vestiges of Action Group.
Frederick Forsyth described the sordid campaigns that followed in his work, The Biafra Story: “the campaign was as dirty as it could be,” he wrote. “In the West, the Nigerian National Alliance ( NNA) electoral appeal was strongly racist in tone, pitched hard against alleged ‘Ibo domination,’ and some of the campaign literature was reminiscent of the anti-Semitic exhortations of pre-war Germany. In the North, United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA) candidates were molested and beaten by the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) party thugs when they tried to campaign. In both North and West UPGA, candidates complained they were either prevented from registering or that, even after registration, their NNA opponents were returned ‘unopposed.’ Up till the last minute, it was in doubt whether there would be any election at all. In the end, it went ahead, but the UPGA boycotted it. Not unnaturally, the result was a win for the NNA,” Forsyth documented.
The recent unfortunate series of political violence and political intimidation reminds us of the existential crisis that Nigeria’s democratic system and its players grapple with. The last two in the recent spate of opposition violence were the attacks that occurred on the 6th and 19th of March, 2026. In the former, thugs and assailants set the African Democratic Congress (ADC) party secretariat on fire, leaving some persons injured in the process. In the latter, a group of women from ADC who were holding an inaugural grassroots forum were clamped down on by hoodlums, suspiciously led by the councillor representing Alesa Ward 1, Daddy Chikere of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In the last few months, there has been an increased onslaught of violence meted out towards members of the opposition. Peter Obi escaped assassination by the skin of his teeth only last month. The incident occurred as he left the ADC Secretariat in Edo State for the residence of former APC chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. He was assailed by armed men who sporadically opened fire on the convoy of the former presidential candidate. Olumide Akpata and Rotimi Amaechi, who are also ADC party members, have also encountered similar ordeals.
As the 2027 election approaches, the persistent intimidation of political opposition and violence against the political opposition threaten to undermine the core of democracy. Democracy thrives where the values of freedom and justice are allowed to run their course without tethers. It rests on two freedoms: the right to choose leaders and to aspire to leadership. When these freedoms are threatened, democracy itself is endangered. Despite leaders’ claims of commitment to democracy, the gulf between ideals and reality in Nigeria continues to widen. What clouds now hang over Nigeria’s forthcoming elections? The increasing violent victimisation of the opposition is killing the fighting spirits of an already tottering opposition. Since the APC took power, we have experienced a sharp atomization of what used to be a vociferous opposition. The 2015 presidential election was the historic turning point that made the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) the main opposition party in Nigeria. However, a potent combination of internal party crisis, leadership tussle, persistent lobbying, carrot-and-stick tactics, and sabotage has frayed the edges of a once-dominant party.
Sadly, what remains of the party’s ruins does little beyond conveying inquests over dead cats. On the other hand, the ADC, which at its inception seemed like a gathering of castaways, left-behinds of other parties, and political also-rans, can only rouse a teacup storm at the moment. Unfortunately, they have been the target of political onslaughts. Onslaughts for which they are yet to match with equal response. These shrinking and wanton attacks on the opposition essentially lend credence to the growing fears that Nigeria is fast turning into a one-party state, a point at which democracy will become nothing more than whispers of the past.
The presidential and gubernatorial elections are scheduled for January and February 2027. For elections ten and eleven months away, respectively, the instances of political violence and the number of casualties are rising. Does this not portend a gory electoral season ahead? Unfortunately, this is not sensational for us as a political entity. One cannot really think of a time in Nigeria’s political history that was devoid of politically motivated violence, particularly that strand of political violence that is violence against opposition. In fact, a portrait of Nigeria’s politicking history is also a picture of violent bloodletting and chaos.
The gruesome murder of Funsho Williams on July 27, 2006, remains without conclusion. The beloved governorship aspirant for PDP in Lagos State, Williams, was found dead in his room at Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, after he had been bound, strangled, and stabbed. Despite the lengthy investigations that followed, the judicial inquest into the matter ended in an acquittal of all suspects. HumanAngle’s snapshot of electoral violence in Nigeria since the country’s independence to the general elections in 2019 reveals that over 1830 people have lost their lives to election violence in Nigeria. From our present viewpoints, given recent happenings, a soothsayer’s clairvoyance is not needed to foresee a tragic increase in the number that gained in more previous elections.
As citizens, we are being demoralized through these occurrences. We find that even the vestiges of our democratic spirits are dying with the unending persecution of the opposition parties, as it appears we are being boxed into a corner. We see it in our unwillingness to protest, to take critical views of the ruling class, to express our ever-raging anger, and to merely be politically conscious. Political violence meted out to those who have dared to protest has discouraged protest in the country. Complicity from law enforcement agencies and other security forces cements this crisis, as they have been used as tools for the victimization of perceived political antagonists.
The complicity of the country’s security apparatus in this democratic travesty is worthy of note. Security operatives are either deployed to witch-hunt politicians from the opposing class, or they are unwilling to enforce the law when hoodlums execute unlawful violence. During the attack on and disruption of the meeting of the ADC Young Women Forum, it was reported that although members of the Nigerian Police Force were on the ground, they did nothing to disrupt the mayhem-causing hoodlums. Leading the hoodlums was the councilor of the Alesa Ward 1, known as ‘Daddy Chikere’, who was flanked by henchmen for the same goal.
The APC, through its fanatic loyalists and the members of the party itself, seems to be the force behind the orchestration of these instances of violence. For instance, the governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, had warned —or threatened— Peter Obi not to enter the state without prior notification. He added that if Obi failed to comply and anything happened to him, he would have himself to blame as his security could not be guaranteed. He had said this as he touted himself as the “new sheriff” of the state. Curiously, Obi would be attacked roughly seven months after the governor’s polemic rhetoric.
There are many other self-made sheriffs and even foot soldiers associated with the APC fomenting and executing violence against members of the opposition. The question is: why is the ruling party resorting to such desperate tactics, even though of the 36 state governors in Nigeria, 31 are with the APC? In the heated race to the infamous 1964 general elections, President Nnamdi Azikwe left the politicians of the time with a warning in a speech said to have been broadcast a few days before the election. In that address, he said, “I have one advice to give to our politicians: ‘If they have decided to destroy our national unity, then they should summon a round-table conference to decide how our national assets should be divided, before they seal their doom by satisfying their lust for office. Should the politicians fail to heed this warning, I will venture the prediction that the experience of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be child’s play, if it ever comes to our turn to play such a tragic role.” Two years after this warning, ‘the dogs of war’ broke out throughout the country, leaving millions of people dead. More than half a century after that war, we are still close to blazing the trail that plunged us into that hell.
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