Observers of the Nigerian political terrain are, in the large majority, in agreement that acts of political
violence remain major threats to the credibility of the Country's elections. History actually indicates
that the issue of political violence is not new in Nigeria; being as old as democratic practice in the
country. Such has been the case that the truncation of the first and second Republics by military coups
was immediately preceded by electoral violence that arose from massively rigged elections.
In this context, various observers of past elections in Nigeria, especially the 2007 round of elections, have
used the trend as a basis for raising well-founded fears regarding the possible negative effects of political violence on subsequent elections even though the incidence varies in intensity from one part of the country to the other. The summary however, is that the shortcomings that have either been ignored or which Nigerians as a people have refused to respond to, have today become major threats to elections and the electoral process.