Article Summary
- Blinken said US Government imposed visa restrictions on specific individuals who undermined the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 elections.
- Policy started after the 2019 elections and the US Government says it is committed to democracy in Nigeria.
- After the elections, The United States said it was deeply troubled by the disturbing acts of violent voter intimidation and suppression that took place during those polls in Lagos, Kano, and other states.
The United States Government has announced that it has imposed sanctions on violent actors who undermined Nigeria’s electoral process in the just concluded elections.
This was disclosed in a statement by Secretary of State, Antony Blinken in a statement on Monday.
The United States government had earlier threatened that it would continue its visa sanctions process on bad actors, a scheme that the government deemed fit to commence as far back as the year 2019.
Visa restrictions
Blinken noted that the US Government is committed towards supporting democracy in Nigeria and rule of law, he in his words said:
- “We have imposed visa restrictions on specific individuals who undermined the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 elections.
- “We remain committed to supporting Nigerian aspirations to strengthen democracy and rule of law.
Backstory
Recall that Nairametrics, after the February 25th election reported that The United States US Government stated that it is deeply troubled by the disturbing acts of violent voter intimidation and suppression, as well as ethnically charged rhetoric used during the March 18 governorship and state assembly elections.
The US government disclosed that it will consider all available actions, including additional visa restrictions on individuals that are either responsible or complicit in undermining the democratic process in the country, they said:
- ‘’Nigeria carried out the second round of its electoral process with gubernatorial and state assembly elections on March 18. The United States is deeply troubled by the disturbing acts of violent voter intimidation and suppression that took place during those polls in Lagos, Kano, and other states.
- ‘’Members of the U.S. diplomatic mission observed the elections in Lagos and elsewhere and witnessed some of these incidents first-hand. The use of ethnically charged rhetoric before, during, and after the gubernatorial election in Lagos was particularly concerning.
- ‘’We commend all Nigerian political actors, religious and community leaders, youth, and citizens who have chosen to reject and speak out against such violence and inflammatory language, affirming Nigerians’ commitment to and respect for the democratic process.’’
The US government urged the Nigerian authorities to hold accountable and bring to justice any individual found to be involved in the intimidation of voters and voter suppression during the election process.