An Assessment of Community Election Observers on Violence Preventions in Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

Aim of the Study: This study is aim at the assessment of Community Peace Observers (CPO’s) on violence prevention in Nassarawa Local Government Area Kano State, Nigeria. The study is to examine the efforts and commitment of community peace observers both participants from international communities’ observers on the prevention of violence in the area. Two objectives were set out, from which two research questions were raised in order to guide the conduct of the study.

Methodology: The research design adopted for the purpose of this research using both primary and secondary data. The data collection method has to do with review of related activities of the community election observers (CPO’s) as secondary data and conducting interviews and administering of questionnaires to some selected 20 traditional, community and CBO’s related with election management in Nassarawa local government, Kano state as a primary source of information.

Findings: The study has two major findings firstly, many political elites promotes youth election violence if they thought they cannot win election rather engage in peaceful and democratic means they choice to either rigging or destruct election processes through violence, secondly, lack of community concern over this attitudes of election violence has promote and escalate instances of election violence's in Nigeria since the return of democracy in 1999.

Conclusion and Recommendations: The paper suggested that for election to be transparent and free from violence in Nigeria, there is need for our electoral laws to punish violators and sponsors of such bad conduct to be lesson to others and there is need for extensive community engagements towards managing election violence in Nassarawa Local Government, Kano State in particular and Nigeria at large.