An Assessment of the Causes and Effects of Political Violence in Nigeria: A Literature Review

Abstract

The study assessed the causes and effects of political violence in Nigeria. The post 2011 election violence in Nigeria is one of the most recent and obvious instances of electoral violence in Nigeria which was reported to have claimed over 800 lives in three days. Election related crisis has been reoccurring since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999. The objective of the study is to find out the causes and effects of political violence in Nigeria. The study relied on secondary sources of data collection and content analysis of secondary data was used to analysed previous studies research. The result from the literature reviewed revealed that political violence takes the form of hostility, assault, assassination, intimidation, harassment, maiming, and killing; as a result, these things have an impact on the social ties that already exist in society. It was revealed from the discussions presented in the work that political violence is a cankerworm that plagues Nigeria and effectively impedes the formation of democracy in the country. The study recommended among other things that the National Assembly should make laws outlawing political violence and the unlawful sale, acquisition, and use of weapons as this will help to combat the culture of impunity that fosters political violence.