Nigeria Says it Has Evidence Insurgents Are Planning ‘Massive Attacks’

(Bloomberg) -- Nigeria’s government has evidence that Boko Haram Islamist militants as well as armed bandits are planning to carry out attacks across the nation, ahead of February elections, Information Minister Lai Mohammed said.

“We have credible intelligence that armed bandits and Boko Haram insurgents have been mobilized to engage in massive attacks and other acts of violence in several states across the country,” Mohammed said in an emailed statement Monday.

The U.S. warned Friday that Islamist militants are planning to disrupt next month’s elections in Nigeria with possible violent attacks.

Mercenaries from neighboring Niger have been recruited to attack top government officials “between now and the elections,” Mohammed also said. He accused the opposition of orchestrating violence ahead of the vote.

President Muhammadu Buhari, 76, is seeking a second four-year term in polls scheduled for Feb. 16 as the country is struggling to contain a decade-long militant campaign by Boko Haram in the northeast. Jihadists loyal to Boko Haram and the Islamic State have stepped up attacks in recent months as they seek to impose their version of Shariah law on Africa’s most populous nation.

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