THE ROLE OF SECURITY AGENCIES IN MANAGING ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA

Election is a fundamental feature of any democratic government the world over. Election is supposed to be properly organized and safeguarded to ensure a violence free process in Nigeria, all security agencies are expected to play a positive role during elections. This study examines the role of security agencies in managing electoral violence in Nigeria. The methodology for this study is qualitative, and descriptive. We adopted the conflict theory as a framework of analysis and argued that the inordinate ambition of the political class and their allies to capture state power and retain it at all costs in order to expand their accumulation base is the cause of electoral violence and what tends to determine the negative use of the security agencies in electoral matters in Nigeria. This study tends to make some recommendations that that can improve the role to be played by our security agencies to ensure credible elections in Nigeria