Ahead of Nigeria's election, opposition weaponises soldier deaths
Paul Carsten


LAGOS (Reuters) - Hundreds of Nigerian soldiers have been killed in recent months by Islamist militants who the president vowed to defeat when voted into power in 2015 - and the bloodshed has become a useful weapon for opponents aiming to topple him in coming elections.

Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has been largely silent about the fighting in the northeast as, in battle after battle, soldiers have died.

On Thursday Buhari’s political opponents disclosed that 44 soldiers had been killed in an attack in the village of Metele, in the northeastern state of Borno, on Sunday.

The move is calculated to undermine the security credentials of the president as he seeks a second term in three months’ time, say politics and security analysts.

Buhari is a former military general and commander-in-chief who came to power promising to defeat the insurgents and whose administration has claimed for years to have beaten Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa (ISWA).

The candidate for the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is Atiku Abubakar, a businessman and former vice president seeking to topple Buhari.

The Senate president, Bukola Saraki, is also PDP and tightly controls the upper house of parliament, which suspended its session on Thursday to honour the fallen after announcing the deaths.

The PDP “are playing politics with conflict,” said Idayat Hassan, director of the Abuja-based Centre for Democracy and Development.

“They know elections can be won or lost based on the issue of security,” she said. “Many people will be very angry. The government has made no statement, they have not confirmed it, so it will be taken as another attempt to deny that the Boko Haram insurgency has not been completely defeated.”

A PDP spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


A Nigerian presidency spokesman said the military would issue a statement. In a statement posted late on Friday on its Facebook page, the army confirmed that troops were attacked in Metele on Sunday.

“Several social media, print and online publications have been brandishing false casualty figures,” it said in the statement, without disclosing the number of those killed or injured.

“FAILING STRATEGY”
Attacks by Boko Haram in the run-up to the last election in 2015 weakened then-president Goodluck Jonathan and helped Buhari to defeat him at the polls.

The course of the conflict now appears to be turning in favour of Islamist militants fighting fatigued, ill-equipped troops.

The attack in Metele was carried out by ISWA and killed around 100 Nigerian soldiers, four security sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, and others in northeast Nigeria in recent days.

“This is a legitimate campaign issue,” said Matthew Page, an associate fellow with Chatham House’s Africa Programme.

“The military strategy in the northeast has been failing,” he said. “This type of failure to exert control over the national territory isn’t sustainable in the long run. It reflects really poorly on the incumbent president with the man on the street.”

In the past, news of heavy military defeats has trickled out from anonymous sources and was only carried by a minority of domestic media. With the Senate’s and Abubakar’s public announcement, details of the Sunday attack have been made widely known.

“It’s been hugely carried by the media today, and that is definitely helping the opposition,” said Kabir Adamu, managing director of intelligence and security risk management firm Beacon Consulting.

“We haven’t seen a statement from the Nigerian government.”

Reporting by Paul Carsten in Lagos; Additional reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos, Camillus Eboh and Felix Onuah in Abuja; Editing by Andrew Roche and Rosalba O'Brien

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sorry story of the nation..everything is politics!!!....PDP and APC should however focus on real issues...and how to make life better for Nigerians... PDP should stop claiming saint....they are as bad if not worse than APC.. we need fresh people with fresh ideas..not ancestors!!!

This is silly.Recall how APC politicized sensitive security issues in 2014/15 including the height of the BH inflicting maximal casualty on the Nigerian military and see how reasonable the opposition is today comparable to then.

In fact this evil & satanic APC government have long coerced people, media houses into forceful silience

Allah akubar

Truth is starting to come out gradually

What do u expect? APC also did this, even worse. In fact I am surprised they haven't even said it is PDP supporters that carried out these most recent attacks to discredit their government.

Even a neutral critic of this government would ask serious questions because after telling us that they have decapitated boko haram, they still went ahead to "release" 1 billion dollars to fight the already " technically defeated" boko haram and get this ugly event still happened?

And the most painful thing is how they are quiet about the issue, some even denied it... human lives really mean nothing in this country. If this had happened in a reasonable country, d president would definitely address the nation, well how would it even happen in d first place? Terrorists taking on military like they are mere cultists.

Why am I a Nigerian sef

Karma is a bitch .

Same thing APC used again PDP is same PDP is using to campaign against this Evil regime

APC did more than this in 2014

while the apc. is trying to Tell Nigerians nothing. happened.





such fools

I don't see how they are politicising anything.
Soldiers are dying, the presidency is silent about it. Doesn't it call for serious concern?

PDP is not doing anything wrong as the things they are reporting are visible to the blind and audible to the deaf. It's not like they are digging deep for dirty stuff.

The same thing you people did with the kidnapp of chibok girls.


Anyway what concerns me in zoo politics.

Still on no referendum no election.

The masses will be at the receiving end.

APC used BH to campaign



In 2015

It was a .major selling point for APC

Where were this Reuters people when Buhari was a talker as an opposition...

The soldiers in question have been having their respective a*rses handed to them since the start of the year...the opposition has every right to ask the government why it is playing ostrich with the lives of our citizens and military.

APC as an opposition did same in 2015, what goes around comes around.....Karma is a bitch......they should swallow the bitter pill.

Boko haram has killed more soldiers in just this year alone under buhari than it killed in almost 7yeras under PDP.

The lifeless presidiot said he will relocate to maiduguri-lies

The brainless buhari said he will lead the battle from the front-lies

The retarded dullar-deen said he will eliminate boko haram under 3months...lies

I guess when he was saying all these the gworo chewing bastard senile Islamic jihadist thought he was talking to his brain dead and senseless zombie followers

Look at most of the people from the south still supporting this animal called buhari , they are afonja pigs. Very selfish and greedy lots.

No wonder SanusiLamido aptly said they (yoroobads)are the problem of Nigeria

we all know

Under PDP Nyaya and wuse in Abuja/Nasarawa is under Boko Haram control. I still route for APC



Sai Jibril

It's a very sad development that people choose to play that kind of politics. those asking for the head of the president because of the incident are just doing the job of security of the country with their mouths which is always the easiest place to get any job done, especially when you are not the one doing the job.

Their major reason is that the president promised to end boko haram. And I asked, who on earth has ever fulfilled all his promises 100%? my question goes also to those expecting Eldorado from the president. From all indications, the man has made serious progress in the fight against boko haram terrorism, and he is still fighting seriously to quench the problem completely. And thats all that matters. Besides, I haven't seen any country in the world including America that has resolved terrorism quickly.

It is a shame that Buhari who said that a fight against Boko Haram is an attack on the North, that Boko haram is good for the north is now the president of Nigeria for nearly 4 years and still counting.

Shame on those supporting him.

They are fools for blaming the recent attack on politics

Odingo1:
It is a shame that Buhari who said that a fight against Boko Haram is an attack on the North, that Boko haram is good for the north is now the president of Nigeria for nearly 4 years and still counting.

Shame on those supporting him.

Blame it on afonja pigs.

idiotic pigs of oduduwa-IPOO

Former President Goodluck Jonathan would've finished this bokoharam 4 or 5 years ago, but APC and Buhari accused him, Ihejilika (Former Chief of Army Staff) and PDP of killing the northern people..


Buhari and some of his APC members even went ahead to say that any attack on bokoharam is an attack to the north..

God punish anybody that involves PDP in this, APC have failed Nigerians...

The plain truth is that karma is a b*tch and right now, that b*tch is on retribution

PDP is not even shouting well compared to how APC was baying during Jonathan's time

Racoon:
This is silly.Recall how APC politicized sensitive security issues in 2014/15 including the height of the BH inflicting maximal casualty on the Nigerian military and see how reasonable the opposition is today comparable to then.

Intact this evil & satanic APC government have long coerced people, media houses into forceful silience

And what is evil or satanic about APC because the defeated ur ineffective buffoon Wailer!

obasig:
Allah akubar

Booooooooooooooooooommmbbbbbbbbb