PREVALENCE OF POLITICAL THUGGERY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN KOGI EAST SENATORIAL DISTRICT OF KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

Political violence has continued to threaten democratic governance, electoral credibility, and socio-economic development in many developing societies, particularly in Nigeria where political thuggery has become a recurring feature of electoral contests. This paper examined the prevalence of political thuggery and socio-economic development in Kogi East Senatorial District of Kogi State, Nigeria. Specifically, the paper examined the instances, causes, and socio-economic impli of political thuggery in the district. The paper adopted the Marxian Political Economy Theory as its theoretical framework to explain how economic inequality, unemployment, and the struggle for political power encourage the exploitation of vulnerable youths for violent political activities. The paper employed analytical literature review method relying mainly on secondary sources of data, including journal articles, textbooks, newspaper reports, official documents, and institutional publications. The paper revealed that political thuggery remains widespread in Kogi East Senatorial District, particularly during electoral periods where incidents of voter intimidation, ballot box snatching, destruction of electoral materials, and politically motivated violence were common. The paper further found that poverty, unemployment, weak electoral institutions, political godfatherism, corruption, and poor enforcement of electoral laws were the major causes of political thuggery in the area. The paper concluded that political thuggery has negatively affected democratic participation, economic activities, social cohesion, and sustainable development in Kogi East Senatorial District. The paper recommended among others, sustainable youth empowerment programmes and stricter enforcement of electoral laws to curb political violence and strengthen democratic governance.