Machete prices in Nigeria have dropped in half following the country's general elections in April due to a decline in demand from political thugs, according to state-owned media.

"A price survey on machetes, which served as a popular weapon among political thugs in the state, indicated ... a drop in the price of the implement," the News Agency of Nigeria said on the weekend in a Reuters report.

The survey was conducted in the northeastern state of Gombe, where machetes were being sold for 400 naira ($3 US) compared to 800 naira ($6 US) before the elections. Since it gained independence from Britain in 1960, Nigeria has earned a reputation for election-time violence and fraud. Politicians are commonly known for using unemployed thugs to intimidate voters.

The demand for machetes, mostly used for farming, has also dropped since April.

"Before the conduct of the general elections, I was selling a minimum of seven machetes daily but can hardly sell one a day now," trader Usman Masi told NAN, according to Reuters.