Nigeria elections: ‘nervous mood’ in Lagos as senate candidate killed ahead of the vote

Oyibo Chukwu, a senatorial candidate from the opposition Labor Party, has been killed by unknown gunmen in an attack on his convoy in southeastern Enugu State ahead of the national election in Nigeria.

Chukwu’s convoy was ambushed Wednesday night as he was traveling back from a campaign event, according to police and a party official. “It is a devastating development for us,” said Chinwuba Ngwu, the Labor Party chairman from the Enugu South local government area, and added that “we are suspecting political assassination because he was favored to win the election.” Police confirmed the killing, which came hours after the parties and presidential candidates signed a pledge to support a peaceful electoral process ahead of Saturday’s (25 February) general election.

At the site of the attack, “a lot of the shops are shut because people say they are nervous and not sure what’s going to happen next,” Al Jazeera correspondent Haru Mutasa reported from the area. As Nigerians are heading to the polling stations to elect their next president and lawmakers, this will be happening against a chaotic backdrop of armed conflict in the northeast, high levels of violent crime across the country, and shortages of cash, fuel and electricity.

Ordinary Nigerians are reportedly nervous, feeling tension in the air, and they are scared to leave the city center, drive out of town because worry about being kidnapped. People also voice concerns about the economy and the cost of living, with the inflation rate in the country having soared to nearly 22% in January.