Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday warned that the upcoming general election could be postponed or even canceled if nothing is done to tackle insecurity in the country, reported The BBC.
INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu said the election body was ensuring that election personnel, materials, and process have the highest level of protection, especially considering the insecurity challenges in various parts of the country.
He said if no measures are taken to deal with Nigeria’s insecurity condition then it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hamper the declaration of elections results and precipitate a constitutional crisis.
“This must not be allowed to happen and shall not be allowed to happen,” Mr. Yakubu said.
He called for the strengthening of security outfits to ensure the polls are held successfully across the country.
Notably, local media has named 15 states that are most likely to experience poll-related violence in the run-up to, during, and after the elections. The list includes five south-eastern states, four north-western states, Benue, Lagos, Kano Plateau, Taraba, and Borno states were named as areas likely to witness election-related violence.
On Saturday, gunmen attacked a train station in southern Edo state, kidnapping about 30 people and injuring others. Kidnapping is one of the major problems, with bandits carrying out mass abductions, mostly in the northwest, though violence has spilled over to other regions as well.
The electoral body has recorded 50 attacks on its offices between 2019 and 2022 as a result of election-related violence.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, who steps down after two terms, failed to control a 13-year-old jihadist insurgency in the northeast. Eighteen candidates are contesting in the election to replace Buhari, including Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).
