Nigerian Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of Maiduguri said that although Islamist extremist group Boko Haram tried to disrupt the presidential elections, they ultimately failed in their attempt.
Elections were held over the weekend between incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, which the Nigerian prelate said were held in a calm manner in Maiduguri.
“Despite the attacks by Boko Haram in different locations, mostly rural, in northern Nigera, which unfortunately caused several victims, the Islamist sect failed to prevent the holding of elections in most of Nigeria”, Bishop Doeme told Fides News Agency.
Nigerian press agencies reported that although Boko Haram killed dozens of people in various attacks, the Nigerian army continued their offense against the terrorist group, which included air strikes.
“The only serious problem were that card readers failed to recognize the fingerprints of voters, which forced them to return several times to the polls to vote”, Bishop Doeme said. Many people, including President Goodluck Jonathan were delayed with their votes due to technical problems.
However, despite the problems, Bishop Doeme said that he is hopeful about his country’s future. “We can be satisfied, because elections were not affected by the violence of Boko Haram. This is already a good result,” he said.
