Insecurity might cancel or postpone Nigeria’s February poll, the electoral commission said. “If the insecurity isn’t monitored and dealt with effectively, it might lead to the cancellation and/or delay of polls in enough constituencies to impede election outcomes,” warned Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, chairman of INEC’s Board of Electoral Institute, on Monday.
President Muhammadu Buhari leaves office after two terms without tackling instability caused by Boko Haram in the northeast, bandits and herders in the northwest and central areas, and separatist tensions in the southeast. This might “precipitate [a] constitutional crisis,” he added, adding that it “must not happen” before February 25. Security and election authorities must be ready for “any obstacle” he warned. Zuru spoke on behalf of INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu at a training event in Abuja. He said Nigeria’s national security advisor, Mohammed Babagana Monguno, and INEC’s chairman “assured the nation of a conducive atmosphere for the 2023 general election”. “The Commission is leaving nothing to chance in securing election people, materials, and processes,” he stated. Multiple threats face Nigeria. Saturday, armed men assaulted a railway station in the southern state of Edo, seizing 30 people. Kidnapping has been a severe problem, with “bandits” carrying out large abductions, especially in the northwest, though violence has spread to other regions. INEC documented 50 attacks on its offices in election-related violence, demonstrations, and crime between 2019 and 2022.
Armed men attacked a jail on the outskirts of Abuja last July, freeing hundreds of inmates. ISIL-allied rebels claimed responsibility for the attack. In October, the US ordered diplomats’ families to leave Abuja owing to a “high danger of terrorist strikes.” Authorities later increased security. Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labor Party are among 18 candidates to succeed Buhari (LP).
