Election Security and Democratic Studies in Nigeria: An Assessment of Security Challenges Surrounding Electoral Processes, 2015–2026

Election security constitutes a fundamental condition for democratic participation, political legitimacy, peaceful competition, and democratic consolidation. In Nigeria, however, electoral processes have continued to operate within a complex security environment involving political violence, voter intimidation, terrorism and insurgency, communal conflict, vote buying, attacks on electoral personnel and materials, cyber and technological vulnerabilities, misinformation, and concerns regarding the neutrality and effectiveness of security agencies. This study examines election security and democratic development in Nigeria between 2015 and 2026, with particular attention to the security challenges surrounding electoral processes and their implications for democratic consolidation. The study adopts a qualitative longitudinal research design based on documentary analysis of Independent National Electoral Commission reports, election-observation reports, scholarly literature, legal and policy documents, and contemporary assessments of Nigeria's electoral-security environment. The study finds that election security challenges have evolved rather than disappeared. The 2015 election demonstrated the possibility of peaceful electoral alternation despite terrorism and political tensions; the 2019 election exposed persistent problems of inadequate security personnel, delayed responses, election violence, and partisan allegations involving security forces; while the 2023 elections revealed the interaction of physical violence, voter intimidation, vote buying, logistical problems, technology-related disputes, and weak enforcement of electoral offenses. By 2026, security concerns remain central to preparations for the 2027 elections. The study argues that election security should be understood as a multidimensional democratic-security issue encompassing physical protection, institutional neutrality, electoral justice, technological resilience, information integrity, and citizen confidence. It recommends stronger inter-agency coordination, professional security deployment, improved prosecution of electoral offenses, protection of electoral personnel, risk-based security planning, enhanced voter protection, and sustained institutional reforms.