Wilson Adekumola
The Federal Government of Nigeria through its Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has disclosed that the report of death in 2023 elections was the lowest since 1964/65 election, adding that it was the least violent elections.
The minister made this known in Washington DC during his interactions with some policy institutes in the US capital.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the minister is in Washington to interact with international media and the policy institutes set up among others, to provide solutions to global challenges.
Among the Think tanks the minister engaged with on the just concluded 2023 polls were, Hudson Institute, The Atlantic Council and Wilson Institute.
While evaluating the data released by a coalition of civil society groups in Nigeria, Lai Mohammed stated that the reported death of between 13 and 28 people during the just concluded elections were the lowest since the 1964/65 elections.
Mohammed explained that during 1964/1965; no fewer than 200 deaths were recorded due to the election violence.
He said the 1993 election recorded 100 casualties, the 1999 recorded 80 deaths, the 2003 polls recorded 100 deaths while 300 lives were lost during the 2007 election.
He stated that the 2011 elections recorded 800 casualties, the 2015 polls recorded 100 deaths, while 150 casualties were recorded during the 2019 polls.
Lai Mohammed, however, emphasized the sanctity of life, noting that no election is worth the life of any Nigerian.
