ABUJA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday ordered the military and police to be ruthless with electoral offenders, such as ballot box snatchers, who aim to disrupt the rescheduled general elections in the country.
Buhari, at a meeting of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party in Abuja, said any politician that decides to sponsor political thugs to cause trouble or to snatch ballot boxes in the elections will be doing so at great risk.
"I really gave the military and police order to be ruthless... Anybody who thinks he has enough influence in his locality to lead a body of thugs to snatch ballot boxes or disturbs the voting system will do so at the expense of his own life," the president said.
Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission last Saturday announced a postponement of the polls by one week, citing issues bordering on logistics.
Buhari, who is seeking a second term of office in the rescheduled presidential election, disclosed that security agents are already aware of likely hotspots and flashpoints during the exercise.
According to him, the security agents are prepared to move in to curtail all electoral crimes and post-election violence.
"We have made as much arrangement as possible for them (the security agents) as much as the country can afford," he said, referring to the level of preparedness of the local security agencies.
Security is often a major concern at Nigerian elections. Apart from politically-linked violence among supporters of rival political parties, the country's armed forces are in a battle with terror group Boko Haram, which is seeking to establish an Islamic state in the northeast region.
