Attacks on Nigeria's Election Facilities a Threat to 2023 Polls

Police officials in Southeast Nigeria have said that operatives killed three armed men when a gang attacked the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) - one of several attacks on the commission's offices ahead of Nigeria's polls in February 2023. 

INEC officials have said attacks on facilities will not deter it from conducting the elections, but political observers say the attacks are already having an impact on the process. INEC said it will be relying on technology to electronically transmit results and assured Nigerians that the attacks will not affect the polls, writes Timothy Obiezu for VOA.

"Between 2019 and now there have been over 53 attacks and the attackers are becoming more daring. We're concerned about how this would impact on citizens' confidence, even on the part of INEC. We have seen the devastating impact on this in the elections in 2019 that INEC even had to delay elections in some quarters," said Paul James, election program coordinator at the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement, a non-profit group that monitors elections in Nigeria.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks but authorities have in recent past blamed an outlawed separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra or IPOB, for increased restiveness in the southeast. IPOB has denied involvement.

Nigerians go to the polls on February 25 to elect a leader that will succeed Muhammadu Buhari, who's exiting after two terms of office. One of the topics most debated is the state and fate of the impending democratic transition amid the deteriorating national security situation.