SECURITY AGENCIES AND THE CHALLENGES OF ELECTORAL INTEGRITY IN NIGERIA

Credible election has become a critical requirement for democracy and good governance. The safety of the environment in which the election is conducted is also necessary for acceptability of the outcome of the election. In this regard, security agencies play important role in ensuring peaceful conduct of election. Responsibility of security agencies is not only to guarantee the safety of voters; it is also to ensure that electoral materials are not tampered with. Roles of security agencies have been identified as one of the reasons for abysmal failure of the electoral process. The main objective of this study is to examine the roles of security agencies in enhancing Nigeria electoral process. Relevant literature was reviewed. Secondary data from newspaper, magazines, books and scholarly articles were used while method of data analysis was qualitative. The study employed structural functionalism as its theoretical framework. Findings from the research revealed that while the roles of security agencies are critical to successful conduct of election, there are other stakeholders, such as media, judiciary, politicians among others whose roles in delivering fair and credible elections cannot be overlooked. Since election is a chain of activities, it requires that all stakeholders should work together for a free, fair and credible election. The study recommends that political parties should be strengthened through promotion of internal democracy. To avoid incessant supremacy battles among security agencies, there should be regular communication. The paper concludes that electoral integrity can be guaranteed if Nigerian Security Agencies are adequately supported in all its ramifications by political parties and other stakeholders.