Nigerian president says military should be ‘ruthless’ with vote riggers

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said he had ordered the military and law enforcement officers to be ruthless with those involved in election fraud following the postponement of the country’s general elections.

“I really gave the military and police orders to be ruthless,” Buhari said. “I want Nigerians to be respected, let them vote whoever they want across the parties.”

LEFT President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari speaks at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum at the Plaza Hotel, September 21, 2016 in New York City. The forum is focused on trade and investment opportunities on the African continent for African heads of government and American business leaders. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) RIGHT Nigeria's main opposition party presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar attends a roundtable gathering of business leaders in the country's commercial capital, Lagos, Nigeria January 16, 2019. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja

Nigerian parties condemn last-minute election delay

Buhari spoke Monday in Abuja, the country’s capital, at an emergency meeting called by his ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He added: “I’m going to warn anybody who thinks he has enough influence in his locality to lead a body of thugs to snatch ballot boxes or disturb the voting system, will do so at the expense of his own life.”

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari arrives for an anti-corruption summit in London in May 2016.

Before he was Nigeria's President, Buhari was an officer in the country's army. Here, he stands next to Saudi Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, center, and Swedish King Carl Gustaf during an OPEC summit in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1977.

As an army general, Buhari gained power in Nigeria after a coup in 1983. He was the country's head of state until 1985, when another coup forced him out.

Buhari ran for president in 2003 but lost the election. He also ran unsuccessfully in 2005, 2007 and 2011 before winning in 2015.

Buhari salutes a crowd during a presidential rally in 2011.

Buhari embraces his opponent, President Goodluck Jonathan, after they pledged to hold peaceful "free, fair and credible" elections in 2015.

Buhari casts his ballot in March 2015.

Buhari greets a crowd as he is sworn in to office in May 2015.

Buhari is greeted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the G-7 summit in Germany in June 2015.

Buhari shakes hands with US President Barack Obama during a White House meeting in July 2015. The two leaders were expected to discuss various topics, including the fight against the Boko Haram terrorist group.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II talks to Buhari during a reception in Malta in November 2015.

Buhari inspects a Chinese honor guard during a visit to Beijing in April 2016.

Patricia Scotland, secretary-general of the British Commonwealth, speaks with Buhari at the start of an anti-corruption summit in London in May 2016.

Buhari leaves the stage during a US-Africa Business Forum in New York in September 2016.

Buhari meets with Chibok schoolgirls during their visit to the presidential villa in Abuja, Nigeria, in October 2016. Boko Haram militants handed over 21 schoolgirls to authorities after a series of negotiations, Nigeria's government said. It was the first mass release of any of the girls who were kidnapped from their school in 2014.

Buhari arrives at a hotel in Banjul, Gambia, to meet with West African leaders in December 2016. The meeting convened around a joint effort to persuade Gambia's longtime leader, Yahya Jammeh, to accept his election defeat and step down from power.

Buhari disembarks from a plane upon his return to Nigeria in March 2017. He had spent nearly two months in London receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed illness.

Buhari listens to US President Donald Trump during their joint press conference at the White House in April 2018. The two leaders also met in the Oval Office to discuss a range of bilateral issues.

Buhari waves to a crowd of supporters during a campaign rally in Lagos, Nigeria, in February 2019.

In photos: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari

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Buhari, 76, is standing for re-election and will be running against 71 other candidates for the country’s highest office. His main challenger is Atiku Abubakar, 72, a business tycoon and former vice president.

Buhari’s critics, led by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the main opposition group, have called the president’s comments a “direct call for jungle justice.”

“It is indeed a licence to kill, which should not come from any leader of any civilized nation,” PDP spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan said in a statement.

Nigeria’s presidential vote was due to be held last Saturday but was postponed until February 23. Nigeria’s Independent Electoral Commission announced it delayed the elections just hours before polls were to open due to “logistical” problems.

There have been flashes of violence in the buildup to the polls, prompting warnings from the British and US governments that they would deny visas to and likely prosecute anyone found inciting violence during the vote.

Three electoral offices housing voting materials in Abia, Anambra and Plateau states were burned down by suspected arsonists days before the presidential vote.

An office for Nigeria's election commission has been burned down just six days before the country is due to vote in a general election.

2 electoral offices burn down a few days before Nigeria's presidential election, officials say

On Tuesday a terror group with links to ISIS claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a motorcade carrying the governor of Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state.

Nigerian presidential candidates and political leaders, however, signed a peace accord this month pledging their support for a peaceful election.