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

Nnamdi Azikwe campus in Awka had been recruited by PDP aspirants in several
southeastern states to accompany them on the campaign trail:
In some areas we played like a security role…We went to other states,
like Enugu—we went there for security for the PDP. Also in Ebonyi…You
go to some places to do voting and the local people, they don’t
understand anything, they just start fighting you…One community
burned a vehicle, maybe because they did not like the candidate, they
said he had done nothing for them. So we provide security for the PDP
in those places. 68
A few of the cult and gang members interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that
they had been paid only to attend rallies in support of their patron candidates. But
they admitted that they routinely attended such events armed and prepared to fight.
One gang member in Ibadan told Human Rights Watch during the 2007 election
campaign that “I go to PDP rallies every day to get a little something. It’s survival, it’s
an investment…to go to rallies we prepare with machetes, clubs and AK-47s. You
never know what can happen.” 69
Other Perpetrators of Political Violence
While cults and other criminal gangs are often at the front lines of political clashes in
Nigeria, they do not by any means have a monopoly on the market for hired thugs. In
some states, politicians have drawn upon the membership of the National Union of
Road Transport Workers (NURTW) for paid thugs. NURTW theoretically represents the
collective interests of commercial drivers and other workers tied to the industry but
some of its chapters have been largely converted into reservoirs of thugs for local
politicians.
In Ekiti State, Human Rights Watch interviewed a group of NURTW members days
ahead of the 2007 elections. They acknowledged that they had been hired by a PDP
politician from their community to attack and chase away would-be voters in order to
68 Human Rights Watch interview with members of Vikings cult group (names withheld), Awka, February 15, 2007.
69 Human Rights Watch interview with GAG gang member, Ibadan, April 6, 2007.
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