CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0     Introduction

The topic of the study; Causes and effects of political violence in Gombe

metropolis. And the purpose of this first chapter is to outline the background of the

study, statement of the problem, research questions, objectives of the research,

scope of the study and definition of basic terms and concepts.

1.1 Background of study

Political violence refers to all collective attacks within a political community

against the political regime, its actors- including competing political groups as well

as incumbents or its policies (Halliru, 2013).

According to Millington (2007), from confrontations during strikes to the street

battles of extremist groups, violence was a feature of interwar European politics, as

countries entered an age of mass politics, governments searched for ways to

integrate their peoples into the political system. He stressed that, yet violence as a

means of political expression and engagement persisted, even in democratic

nations (Millington, 2007). Violent political conflict preceded the establishment of

fascist regimes in Italy and Germany, and civil war in Spain, in Eastern Europe, the

collapse of empire and the founding of new nation-states gave rise to violent

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political struggle, in France and Britain, street fighting and rioting raised fears over

the breakdown of order in the western democracies (Millington, 2007).

More so, according to Human Security Report Oxford university (2005) out of 30

major political violence recorded in 2000, there were 23 civil wars, of which ten

were in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). These wars are estimated to have resulted in

over four million deaths and have cost the countries in question more than $138

billion (in 1995 prices). However, by the turn of the 21st century, Sub-Saharan

Africa has become the most violent region, accounting for more battle-related

deaths than all other regions combined (Human Security Centre, 2005).

From the years 1999 Nigeria witnessed an unprecedented increase in acts of

political violence across the country arising from the formation of ethnic and

political militia, such as Oduduwa People Congress (OPC), in the South-West of

Nigeria, ECOMOG