CLEEN Foundation has listed hate speech, drug abuse and biased security agents as potential threats to the twenty-nineteen general elections.

It made this known in a pilot study it conducted recently in twelve states drawn from the six geo-political zones of the country tagged: Election Security Threat Assessment of Nigeria: Twelve Focal States, in preparation for the forth coming off circle and general elections in the country.

Presenting the findings in Lagos, the lead consultant and dean Faculty of Social Science, Federal University of Ekiti, Shola Omotola said the study revealed that use of hate speech and indecent language by political actors has the potentials to trigger electoral violence in the general elections if not well-managed.

Omotola said from the response gathered, it was revealed that majority of respondents eighty-four percent across the twelve focal states affirmed that hate speech was a potential trigger of electoral violence in the coming elections and should be guided against.

According to him, another factor revealed from the study as a potential threat to the coming elections is security agents, saying inadequate deployment of security agents during poses great danger to free and fair election in Nigeria.

Buttressing the point, the Lead Consultant noted that how security agents carry out their duties during elections could become potential source of electoral violence if not done with patriotism.

Similarly, the report also shows that the growing habit of hard drug consumption in Nigeria among youth is a major source of growing concern ahead of the general elections.

According to the survey, majority of the respondents eighty-three percent held the view that widespread spread availability and use of hard drugs can precipitate electoral violence in the focal state.

The study did not spare the electoral umpire, the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC.

It indicated that INEC officials equally pose a great threat to elections if allowed to carry out their duties in a biased manner.

Meanwhile, the study identified party thugs; religious extremists; cultists; other armed groups and insurgents major actors that could cause electoral violence in the forth coming general elections.

Other factors listed in the report that could cause electoral violence include: political parties; security agents; the integrity, competence and professionalism of the electoral management body.

Also, substitution of trained electoral officials; problems associated with distribution of PVCs and failure to prosecute electoral offenders were part of factors listed as factors that could cause electoral violence in the 2019 general elections.

Another important finding from the study is that citizens’ disenchantment with the government the electoral process could lead to electoral violence.

The media was not spared by the survey, as the result indicates that activities o the media are capable of causing electoral violence in the 2019 general elections.

‘‘Situations that have very high likelihood of triggering electoral violence include when the media is involved in partnership, favouritism and partiality, misinformation of the public, broadcast and publishing of hatred and sensationalism and provocation.

Other actions of the media that could cause electoral violence include lack of professionalism, failure of regulatory bodies to ensure adherence to established rules by the media, abuse of social media and unequal access to media.

The report however, suggested that for the INEC to ensure highest level of commitment to administrative and technical competency as well as professional integrity in the conduct of the election.

‘‘This is crucial as electoral experts have presciently noted that the character, competence and composition of electoral management bodies can determine whether an election is a source of peaceful change or a cause for serious instability,’’ it stated.

Also commenting, Executive Director of CLEEN Foundation, Benson Olugbuo, said the organisation embarked on the study to assess electoral risk factors in the six geopolitical zones ahead of the elections.

Olugbuo who spoke through Assistant Program Manager, Chigozirim Okoro said the exercise was embarked upon to identify early warning signals that could assist relevant stakeholders, especially INEC, security agents and CSOs to deploy appropriate responses.