Unveiling Security Agencies as Challenges to Electoral Integrity in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

Abstract

Security is a significant part of electoral administration. This is especially true in emerging, nascent and budding democracy like Nigeria where the electoral systems are still largely evolving. The level of voters’ turnout and political contestants’ participation, the credibility of electoral results and ultimately the legitimacy conferred on the emergent government, largely depend on how well the security of the elections are managed. As such the role of security agencies in the management of elections in Nigeria occupies a strategic position in the electoral process, and by implication, the consolidation of democratic governance. And since such agencies play significant roles in organizing democratic elections, their actions or inactions could make or mar elections. However, since the emergence of the Fourth Republic, the role and conduct of security agencies in the electoral process has left much to be desired. The unprofessional and unpatriotic activities of these security agencies in Fourth Republic elections have in a lot of ways undermined the integrity and democratic quality of these elections. As such the paper is undertaken to unravel the role of security agencies in the unending electoral crisis afflicting democracy in Nigeria. The data for this paper are drawn from secondary sources while personal observation and interviews with security personnels were employed to complement findings from the literature. The conclusion of the study is that security agencies through their compromising roles in electoral fraud and violence, have become a major hindrance to the institution of electoral integrity and democracy in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic