US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that additional Nigerians would face travel bans into the country for undermining the country’s democratic process in the run-up to elections in 2023.
In a statement, Blinken said, “These individuals have been involved in intimidating voters through threats and physical violence, the manipulation of vote results, and other activity that undermines Nigeria’s democratic process.”
There was no additional information provided. This is the latest in a long line of efforts in recent years to make it more difficult for Nigerians to obtain visas.
According to court documents, opposition petitions challenging President-elect Bola Tinubu’s victory in the disputed presidential election in February were set to be heard this month by Nigeria’s election tribunal.
The Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi have both filed lawsuits alleging fraud in the election that Tinubu won with the help of the ruling All Progressives Congress party.
On the grounds that the election was marred by irregularities, Atiku and Obi have petitioned the tribunal to overturn Tinubu’s victory. Tinubu will be sworn in as governor on May 29, and he claims he was elected fairly. He has petitioned for their dismissal.
There have been numerous court attempts to overturn the results of previous Nigerian presidential elections, but none have been successful.
