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

police’s shortcomings as an institution are political pressures that often prevent the
police from investigating abuses connected to politicians or other prominent allies of
the ruling party. As one prominent politician from southwestern Nigeria said to
Human Rights Watch, “Political crimes are not ordinary crimes. In such cases the
[state’s] Commissioner [of Police] becomes a messenger from above—he requires a
nod from higher authorities to function effectively…so what needs to change is the
mindset in Abuja.” 139 One Lagos-based activist noted that “there is a lot of secondguessing
also. Even if the president does not issue a directive [not to investigate
someone], people try and guess what he would and would not like.” 140
The effects of the police force’s equivocal commitment to accountability were clearly
evident during the months surrounding the 2007 elections. Rather than attempt to
investigate and bring to account sponsors of election-related violence, the
leadership of the police force largely fell into a pattern of refusing to respond to
incidents of political violence orchestrated by leading politicians or influential
members of the PDP.
Human Rights Watch interviewed then-Inspector General of Police Sunday Ehindero,
an appointee of President Obasanjo, during the run-up to the election. Asked about
the police response to scores of widely publicized instances of election-related
violence, Ehindero said that he knew of “only one” incident of election-related
violence that had taken place during the entire pre-election period—an incident that
happened to occur in his physical presence. 141 That level of public unconcern coming
from Nigeria’s top police official was remarkable, especially considering that lowerlevel
police officers had promised robust investigations of many other clashes and
attempted murders at the time. 142
139 Human Rights Watch interview, Ibadan, February 9, 2007.
140 Human Rights Watch interview with Innocent Chukwuma, Lagos, February 6, 2007.
141 Human Rights Watch interview with Sunday Ehindero, Abuja, February 21, 2007. The incident Ehindero referenced was a
clash between rival PDP factions at a rally in the town of Akure. That clash is described in the Oyo State case study below.
142 By that point Nigeria had already witnessed more than 70 incidents of election-related violence that had been widely
reported in the press, and in some instances lower-level police officers had promised investigations. See Human Rights Watch,
Election or “Selection”?, pp. 19-21.
Criminal Politics 46