Published 3rd Feb, 2023

By Tarinipre Francis

Southern Ijaw, Nembe, and Ekeremor local government areas are the most prone to electoral violence in Bayelsa State. Clement Lanny Monovie, the alumni president of Niger Delta University (NDU), recalls that the histories of these places are largely connected to violence.

He cited the longstanding inter-communal rivalry in Nembe and drew parallels between Southern Ijaw’s large numbers of militant generals and its high record of electoral violence. What is also true is that members of the political class abet electoral violence to protect their ambitions.

After the 2019 elections, The Conversation Africa, a pan-African media outfit, listed Bayelsa as one of nine most violent states in Nigeria during the period. Human Rights Watch (HRW) also notes that in states like Rivers and Bayelsa, cult groups fight one another to establish dominance and become politicians’ favourite for hire, alluding that while politicians seek the services of these youths and vice versa.

‘ALL THESE POLITICIANS ARE CULTISTS‘

That there are politicians who belong to confraternities, Peter agreed with Pere, but he also insists that some of them are clean.

I had intended to meet up with Peter to discuss the links between confraternity groups and politicians in Bayelsa State and how those links were established. But he came along with his friend, Pere, and for a while, they debated the percentage of politicians who belonged to cult groups.

The argument started when Pere said to me, “The truth is that all these politicians are cultists.”

Peter countered him and said, “No. You are generalising. It is not all of them. Some are still clean.”

Even though he had worked with several politicians over the years and was familiar with their operations, there was something about classifying them together that did not sit well with Peter.

But Pere, unwilling to change his position, said, even if there were indeed clean politicians, 90 percent of them were members of cult groups. A little back and forth, and they reached a consensus that 80 percent of politicians in Bayelsa State belonged to confraternities.

By both their accounts, quite a number of politicians belong to the same cult groups that young people in the state belong to, but as a result of their ranks in society, they do not operate in the same capacity as younger members.

Because of their history with these associations, however, there is always a link through which members of the political class can connect with the younger more active cult members when they need them to do their biddings.

Their reports reflect the realities of the state in that in Bayelsa, there is only one thriving industry, and it is politics.

From the elections held in tertiary institutions domiciled in the state to those of alumni bodies, and from the Ijaw Youth Council elections to state-organised local government elections, cult members have continued to gain prominence in the polity, rising up from being violent tools used during elections to becoming established politicians in the state.

As some of them record success and continue to advance in their political careers, their successes present a blueprint and motivation for younger people that they can also navigate their ways to the apex of political offices through cult affiliations.

Peter was one of such people. He belonged to a cult group and admitted to participation in multiple vices to protect the interests of politicians. When we met for the third time on January 8, he said he knew that in the coming weeks he would be receiving some calls.

The calls he alluded to would come from politicians or ‘elders’ he had previously worked with. He added that these ‘elders’ had vested interests in the coming elections.

The ‘elders’ are broad-ranging, and could be anyone from a respected leader or chief in their community to high-ranking civil service officers and university vice-chancellors.

He said the ‘elders’ were usually people respected by the youths in whatever communities they belonged to and they served as the middlemen between politicians and the youths.

Having been in the system for over 10 years, Peter now holds some ground as a middleman himself – a bridge between politicians and young people like him.

“Every man must grow,” Peter said.

“Man don pass 30 years, I no go fit still dey do certain things again. When you serve to a certain level, you just have to grow.”

THE RICHEST CANDIDATE GAINS MONOPOLY OF ELECTORAL VIOLENCE

Peter started working with politicians in 2011. At the time, he was still in the university and quite unfamiliar with the process. Through peers, however, he rapidly learnt the ropes and soon became involved in electoral malpractices done on behalf of politicians. The motivation was simple – money.

Whether Peter had already joined a cult group before his introduction to electoral malpractices or afterwards, he did not say, but he did not shy away from saying that he had visited and worked with politicians on numerous occasions and during election periods to protect their interests.

“The connection is easy,” he said. “Growing up in an environment like ours, it is normal and easy for young people to become members of cult groups. The younger ones are recruited by older ones and the cycle continues.”

These young boys are well known in their communities, and their allegiance is to the candidates with the most money to throw around.

They establish links with these politicians through respected members of their communities or well-respected members of their confraternities who have been in the game longer than them and also have direct access to politicians and their aides.

Often times, they would be the ones seeking to meet with these ‘elders’ themselves or try to get direct access to politicians to offer their services during elections.

Speaking to cult clashes that ensue before elections to claim territorial dominance and subsequently become favoured by politicians, Peter painted a somewhat different view from the reports about pre-election cult clashes in the state.

According to him, members of opposing cult groups usually bury their hatchets and can be seen working together during elections because they have a common goal – to deliver for a political candidate – and the only thing that matters to them is the financial gains they stand to make.

He shared an experience about how he once found himself on a bus with members of an opposing group at a political campaign. He added that under normal circumstances, being together in the same vicinity would have led to a clash. On this day, however, they had a common interest and there was no violence.

NDU’s alumni president agreed that money is the major instrument used to manipulate young people to incite electoral malpractices and violence, but he also corroborated the reports that cult clashes are supremacy battles in hopes for being favoured by members of the political class.

“These people don’t fight for supremacy for nothing. If they’ve been able to show dominance in a particular demography, it therefore means that when it is time to hire thugs, the members of their frats will be contracted for it,” he said.

Furthermore, he recounted an incident that occurred when he was running for president of the Niger Delta University alumni. He said he was approached by young men from a particular confraternity to “work for him”.

It is not difficult to see why it is so for young people in the state. Despite being an oil-rich state, many of its people are still widely economically disadvantaged. Together with the absence of jobs, many young people roam the streets and depend on activities like this to make their daily bread.

It is on the streets that they become acquainted with confraternities and as a result become embroiled with parties who then introduce them to political aspirants to instigate electoral violence to protect their interests.

‘I’M GIVING YOU THIS GUN TO MAKE ME WIN THIS ELECTION‘

According to Peter, politicians have openly told him to protect their interests during elections “at all cost”, and protecting their interests can range from little things like putting up their posters around entire communities to more grievous actions like using arms to disrupt the electoral process.

Peter admitted to participating in electoral violence as part of doing what he could “at all cost” to protect the interests of politicians, exercising caution so as not to plant himself at the centre of electoral violence.

“Definitely, if you are working for someone and then you see that things are not going right like the way you want it to be… Definitely you have no choice but to create a scene there in other to hijack the materials,” he said.

“Sometimes, it is all about hijacking the materials. That’s where the problem comes. Sometimes, you don’t have a choice but to make it happen. You need to have this thing which is called the weapon, the gun.”

As he continued, he switched to using ‘they’ to classify the perpetrators of electoral violence.

Peter

“I’ve seen politicians say ‘I’m giving you this gun to make me win this election’. Sometimes, when they come, they don’t come to vote, they just come to pack the ballot box, so in the process of doing that, the use of weapons comes into play,” he said.

“It calls for violence. Definitely the opposition will not sit back and watch you take out the ballot boxes. Definitely, somebody will bring out the weapon.”

Peter stated clearly that politicians buy guns and distribute them to cultists during every electoral cycle.

PRE-ELECTION VIOLENCE IN BAYELSA STATE

Nember City Hall in Bayelsa — Nember City Hall

Bayelsa’s Ogbia Local Government Area already recorded a case of pre-electoral violence that led to the death of one Michael Isaiah during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) house of assembly primaries held in May 2022.

Sources said that electoral violence orchestrated by cult members were financially motivated and rife during gubernatorial elections. The closer the elections were to the grassroot, the more violent they were.

The reason for this is that personal interests and stakes are higher with state elections.

FIJ also gathered that electoral malpractices and subsequent violence typically occur in the days leading up to elections, particularly on election eve.

It was the case in 2019 during the PDP’s campaign for the state’s gubernatorial election. Clashes between supporters of the PDP and All Progressive Congress (APC) in Nembe led to the death of 21 persons and left many others injured three days to the election.

Being a primarily PDP constituency, the 2019 gubernatorial elections were the first time that the APC emerged victorious in Nembe, recording 83,041 votes while the PDP recorded only 874 votes.

A community member who asked not to be named, and who was present when the violent clashes erupted in the community during the PDP campaign, told FIJ that the clash happened when against early warnings not to visit Nembe for campaigns, members of the PDP under the mobilisation of Jonathan Obuebite, a former commissioner and assembly member, visited the area to campaign.

The source added that Obuebite, who is also a Nembe indigene, led the campaign team to the town stating that he could not be barred from his hometown.

When they arrived, supporters of the PDP started taunting those of the APC, saying, “You said we could not come for our campaign here. Now, are we not here? What can you do?”

It increased tension at the campaign, and a shootout ensued, leading to the death of several people.

Nembe City Hall Pavilion in Bayelsa — Nembe City Hall Pavilion

After the shootout, PDP supporters fled the town for fear of their safety, the source said, adding that the clash elicited voter apathy during the election.

The perpetrators of the Nembe Massacre, as the event is referred to, are known. Community members and supporters of the warring parties can identify the instigators. However, no one is willing to come forward to openly call out names.

Henry Seriake Dickson, who was the governor of the state at the time, instituted a panel to probe the killings. The report of the panel only contained the number of people killed and those who sustained gunshot injuries. No perpetrators were identified and prosecuted even as the information was an open secret among community members.

This, according to Monovie, was the reason electoral violence thrived. He said perpetrators of electoral violence were not prosecuted but rewarded and it emboldened them to continue perpetuating it.

He said, “The sure best way to stop electoral violence is job creation and deploying technology for elections.”

This story was produced in partnership with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).

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