AU observer team to monitor Nigeria poll, as pre-election violence escalates

The African Union (AU) will be sending a 90-strong observer mission to Nigeria for this month’s elections, the AU Commission announced Tuesday (14 February), as the West African country warned of increasing election-related violence.
The AU said the objectives of the mission were to provide an “accurate and impartial assessment” of the electoral process, offer recommendations for any improvement in future polls and to demonstrate AU support “towards consolidation of democracy, peace, stability and development in Nigeria.” The African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) is being headed by former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, who helped broker a deal to end two years of war in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region and is mediating in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
As Nigeria goes to the polls on 25 February, Africa’s most populous country has been plunged into crisis in the run-up to the vote with dire shortages of cash and fuel. Nearly 100 million people will vote to choose the successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, who steps down after two terms as the West African country struggles with widespread insecurity and economic malaise. This comes as Nigeria’s National Peace Committee said election-related violence is spiking as the national polls draw near. On Friday, unidentified gunmen ambushed and killed three members of the security team for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In another incident, one person was killed and five arrested after a violent clash between supporters of the PDP and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) party during a campaign rally in northern Jigawa state.