Abstract
Post-election violence remains one of the major threats to democratic consolidation in Nigeria despite successive electoral reforms and improvements in electoral administration since the return to democratic rule in 1999. This study examines the relationship between post-election violence and democratic consolidation in Nigeria using evidence from the 2015, 2019, and 2023 general elections. The study adopts a qualitative descriptive research design and relies on secondary data obtained from academic journals, textbooks, reports of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), election observation missions, policy documents, and credible media publications. Data were analyzed through comparative and content analysis to identify recurring patterns, causes, and implications of post-election violence across the selected election cycles. The study is anchored on the Frustration–Aggression Theory, which explains how perceived electoral injustice, political exclusion, and disputed election outcomes often generate frustration that escalates into violence among political actors and their supporters. Findings reveal that although the 2015 election recorded relative improvements in electoral credibility and peaceful transfer of power, the 2019 and 2023 elections witnessed renewed incidents of violence, voter intimidation, electoral disputes, and post-election litigations. The study further finds that political intolerance, weak institutional enforcement, ethnic polarization, poverty, youth unemployment, and the high-stakes nature of electoral competition remain major drivers of post-election violence in Nigeria. These violent occurrences undermine democratic consolidation by weakening public trust in electoral institutions, discouraging voter participation, and threatening political stability. The study therefore recommends the strengthening of electoral institutions through improved autonomy and funding of INEC, strict enforcement of electoral laws through the establishment of an independent electoral offences commission, continuous civic and voter education, and professional neutrality of security agencies during elections. These measures are necessary to promote electoral credibility, reduce political impunity, strengthen public confidence in democratic institutions, and ensure sustainable democratic consolidation in Nigeria.
Keywords: Post-election violence; democratic consolidation; electoral violence; elections; Nigeria; political stability
DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/fujpam.2026.v5i01.028
author/Anthonia Odije Onda
journal/FUJPAM Vol. 5, No. 1
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