Abstract
This paper interrogated the interrelations between electoral violence and democratic consolidation in Nigeria between 1999 and 2023. Free, fair, and credible elections are hallmarks of participatory democracy. Developmental states in the world have, through legislation, enactment of relevant laws, application of technology, and establishment of strong institutions, managed to eradicate incidence of violence that could affect election outcomes. In Nigeria, however, the case is not the same. Elections have been held in Nigeria every four years starting from 1999, but it is worrisome that each one so far seemed progressively more violent than the previous. The study is anchored on prebendalism theory to explicate electoral violence as a phenomenon. The study relied on ex-post facto research design to gain insight into electoral violence in Nigeria. Data collection emanated from previous studies carried out by scholars utilizing the content analysis method. The paper concluded that electoral violence only depict or represent political and social nuances in the larger Nigerian society, which is hamstrung by systemic failure as a result of corruption. Also, ethnic, religious, sectional considerations and not popular policies give rise to electoral violence in Nigeria. Recommendations in the study include that: rampant and widespread public corruption should be nipped in the bud by legislation to drastically reduce salaries and wages of elected and appointed office holders to the level accruable to civil servants in Nigeria; meritocracy should be enthroned in all government businesses by prioritizing merit rather than such considerations as one's state, region or status in the society.