A professor and election analyst, Udenta Udenta, has made multiple claims about the conduct of Nigeria’s 2011 general elections.
Udenta, who is the founding national secretary of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), made these claims during an interview on Arise News, where he was asked to speak to the controversies trailing the outcome of the 2023 general elections.
Claim I: Hundreds of corps members were killed in the 2011 post-election violence.
Verification
We found that riots broke out in the country following the outcome of the 2011 elections, which led to the death of more than 800 people across 12 northern states, Human Rights Watch reported.
This was as the supporters of Muhammadu Buhari, the main opposition candidate, reportedly staged widespread protests to kick against the emergence of the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, with the allegations that the elections were rigged.
Reuters and Al Jazeera also reported the post-election riots here and here. 10 serving corps members were reported killed in the escalated development.
Families of the 10 slain corps members were later compensated by the Buhari-led administration in 2021.
Verdict
The claim that hundreds of corps members were killed in the 2011 post-election violence, is inaccurate; CDD Election War Room found that although corps members were killed, they were however 10.
Claim II: Lai Mohammed was part of the APC in 2011.
Verification
CDD Election War Room found that the APC was yet to be formed at the time the 2011 elections were conducted.
The major candidates who contested the election include; Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nuhu Ribadu of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and Ibrahim Shekarau of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
Buhari was the closest rival to Jonathan, who won the election, while ACN’s Ribadu came third.
Lai Mohammed served as the spokesperson of the ACN at the time.
The then three major opposition parties (ACN, CPC, and ANPP) and other factions, later merged to form the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013.
Verdict
The claim that Lai Mohammed was part of the APC in 2011, is misleading; CDD Election War Room can confirm that APC did not exist until 2013 when opposition parties including the CPC merged to form the APC.