Nigeria’s militant Islamic group Boko Haram offered the Islamic State allegiance, and the offer was accepted.
While the news is being widely reported, it was based on an audio message that has not been verified, the BBC reports. But a spokesman for ISIS said “the aim of establishing a caliphate has now been expanded to West Africa,” the BBC adds. Boko Haram is the group well-known for kidnapping hundreds of girls in the country’s north, where it seeks Islamist rule.
Hundreds of mercenaries from South Africa and other countries are part of Nigeria’s military campaign against Boko Haram, operating attack helicopters and armored personnel carriers and fighting to retake towns and villages seized in the six-year campaign, The New York Times reports.
The announcement comes just weeks before Nigeria’s presidential election, and the unpredictable factor is the swing vote within the traditional Muslim and Christian divide.Eurasia Group‘s fresh prediction that opposition leader and former dictator Muhamadu Buhari has a 60% chance of beating incumbent President Jonathan Goodluck has drawn passionate and polarized comments on this blog overnight. Citing a local poll, Eurasia Group analyst Philippe de Pontet said Nigeria’s “electoral map is tilting towards Buhari in the swing regions of the southwest and middle belt, while high turnout in his core northern base will offset Jonathan’s advantage in the Niger Delta.” See: “Nigeria Opposition’s Buhari Could Win, Disrupting Oil.”
Nigeria has a history of military rule and polls showed a close race. Boko Haram violence was cited in the six-week delay of national elections, which were slated for February.
(Source: Barron’s)
