TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari says the persons behind attacks on facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will “soon have the shock of their lives”.

There have been a series of attacks on INEC facilities in the country in recent months, particularly in the south-east region.

The president says his government will get “harder” on those hellbent on destroying Nigeria.

He said the sponsors and orchestrators of insecurity in the country are doing so because they want his administration to fail.

The president spoke on Tuesday after he received a briefing from Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of INEC.

He said: “I receive daily security reports on the attacks, and it is very clear that those behind them want this administration to fail.

“Insecurity in Nigeria is now mentioned all over the world. All the people who want power, whoever they are, you wonder what they really want. Whoever wants the destruction of the system will soon have the shock of their lives. We’ve given them enough time.”

Buhari said he visited every state in the country before the 2019 elections, “and majority of the people believed me, and the election proved it”.

He said those “misbehaving in certain parts of the country” are oblivious of the destruction and tragedy that came in the wake of the Nigerian Civil War.

“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand. We are going to be very hard sooner than later,” he added.

The president added that he will “demand security” from the new service chiefs and the inspector-general of police.

He said INEC will be given the necessary support to function, “so that no one would say we don’t want to go, or that we want a third term. There will be no excuse for failure. We’ll meet all INEC’s demands”.

Earlier, the INEC chairman said there had been 42 attacks on the commission’s facilities in 14 states since the last general election.

“Most of the attacks happened in the last seven months, and they are unrelated to protest against previous elections,” he said.

“From the pattern and frequency of the most recent attacks, they appear to be targeted at future elections. The intention is to incapacitate the commission, undermine the nation’s democracy and precipitate a national crisis.”