Nigeria Leader’s Ally Warns Foreign Interveners in Election Risk ‘Body Bags’ – Reuters

By Paul Carsten and Alexis Akwagyiram

ABUJA – A prominent ally of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari recently issued a striking warning to foreign entities considering intervention in the upcoming elections, suggesting that they would return “in body bags.”

Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, made these remarks during a televised discussion on the Nigerian Television Authority, which focused on the perceived influence of the international community in the nation’s electoral process. This conversation followed international concerns regarding the suspension of Nigeria’s Chief Justice.

The February 16 elections in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, will see Buhari, who ruled as a military leader in the 1980s and was elected in 2015, face off against Atiku Abubakar, a businessman and former vice president. This race has grown increasingly contentious in the weeks leading up to the vote.

During the broadcast, El-Rufai referenced reactions from the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom regarding the recent suspension of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen, who had been accused of violating asset-declaration rules.

“We await the individual who might attempt to intervene. They will return in body bags because no one will dictate to us how to govern our country,” El-Rufai stated. “We have achieved our independence and are striving to conduct our affairs as effectively as possible.”

In a joint statement last year, both Buhari and Abubakar affirmed their commitment to conducting a peaceful election.

Following El-Rufai’s comments, the opposition People’s Democratic Party expressed that it might reconsider its involvement in the national peace accord if the ruling party continued to make “threatening and inflammatory statements.”

The suspended chief justice was previously expected to oversee any disputes regarding the election results, and Nigeria’s judiciary has played a crucial role in resolving electoral conflicts in the past, some of which were marked by violence and allegations of vote rigging.

Last week, the Nigerian government reiterated that it would not tolerate any foreign interference following concerns voiced by the EU, the United States, and the United Kingdom regarding the implications of the chief justice’s suspension for the upcoming elections.

In response to these developments, the EU election observation mission emphasized its commitment to ensuring the safety of its observers while continuing their work across Nigeria leading up to and following the elections on February 16.