At a late-night press conference Saturday, Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced that the vote would be delayed until March 28 so Nigeria’s security forces can have more time to secure the country.
Radical armed group Boko Haram has taken over towns and villages in the country’s northeast, declaring their intention to establish a state ruled by their interpretation of Shariah. The group has killed thousands of Christians and Muslims alike and kidnapped hundreds of women and children. Even before the vote was delayed, the INEC said it wouldn’t open polls in areas where Boko Haram is active.
Two days after the delay was announced, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki said the government would use a new task force composed of troops from Nigeria and neighboring countries to eradicate Boko Haram camps.
They planned to do this in six weeks, despite the fact that the group has been rampaging across the northeast for over six years, with a death toll in the thousands.