Criminal Politics: Violence, “Godfathers” and Corruption in Nigeria

eportedly urged his disgruntled opponents to “understand that they cannot go
against the will of God” and accept the results of the elections. 346
The Elections and Non-Political Violent Crime: Rape, Murder and Robbery
The violence perpetrated by Kalare members has not been confined to election
periods. Gombe state residents, caught between political violence and the epidemic
of violent crime these political activities spawned, have been trapped in a state of
persistent insecurity. “We are ruled by gangsters,” one member of the Gombe Elders
Forum complained to Human Rights Watch. “The major source of criminal activity in
Gombe is the politicians and their militias.” 347
The Kalare boys are easily identifiable by their weapons—most often machetes—and
their identities are known to many residents. Once procured in preparation for the
polls, the machetes remain in the hands of the thugs and are used for other
purposes. Unofficial road blocks created by these armed thugs are a common feature
on Gombe’s roads. One civil society activist told Human Rights Watch that as often
as once a week Kalare thugs rampage through his own neighborhood in Gombe town.
“You see them in a group; they clear everything in their path,” he said. “If they come
across a motorbike, they smash it, if they come across a car, they smash it, if they
come across a shop, they smash it.” 348 Another victim of Kalare depredations told
Human Rights Watch how he was held up by youths brandishing machetes and
robbed of his mobile phone at a roadblock they had set up. While robbing him they
smashed the windscreen and stole his mobile phone. 349 He added, “At times, they
don’t find the target they want and then innocent civilians are the victims.”
This was the case in March 2007 when a young boy was caught in the middle of a
fight between two Kalare factions near his secondary school and stabbed to death. It
was not clear what they were fighting over. The boy had gone to school to collect
results from a recent exam, but arrived to find the Kalare battling it out nearby.
346 Ibid.
347 Human Rights Watch interview [name withheld] Gombe Town, April 20, 2007.
348 Human Rights Watch interview with activist [name withheld], Gombe town, April 20, 2007.
349 Human Rights Watch interview [name withheld], Gombe town, April 20, 2007.
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