Gunmen murdered a leading opposition politician at his home in the Nigerian capital on Wednesday, dramatically raising the tension in an election campaign already marred by violence.
Opposition leaders wasted no time in blaming President Olusegun Obasanjo and his ruling party for the killing of Harry Marshall, a close aide of the opposition’s main presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari.
The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) denied the charge, but the incident is a serious escalation in the bitter battle ahead of April 19’s elections, the first since the end of military rule four years ago.
”We want to tell Nigerians that we hold the PDP and President Obasanjo responsible for the killing of our members,” said Don Etiebet, chairman of Buhari’s opposition All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP).
”We must warn that nobody has the monopoly on violence. If the situation continues we shall have no choice but to call upon Nigerians to defend themselves,” he said, sitting next to a silent Buhari.
Responding for the ruling PDP, party representative Venatious Ikem said that his party condemned the murder and urged those concerned by the killing to await the result of the police inquiry.
”We cannot take corporate responsibility for individual action,” he said. ”There’s no collective responsibility for criminal action. The PDP will not take responsibility for such things.” Marshall had been Buhari’s campaign manager in southern Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region and earlier this week had warned that PDP supporters there were stockpiling arms and training armed gangs.
In more than 40 years of independence Nigeria has never successfully transferred power from one elected civilian regime to another, and the April 19 presidential poll is seen as a key test of its young democracy.
Already, in recent months, dozens of Nigerians have been killed in violent clashes around the country triggered by localised political disputes in the run up to polling day.
Deputy federal police representative Femi Oyeleye said: ”At around 04:30 hours (0430 GMT) this morning Mr Harry Marshall was attacked and shot dead at 28D Karaye Close, Garki, Abuja by yet to be identified assailants,”
”The asssailants forcefully gained entry into his house by overpowering and tying up his security guards,” he told AFP, adding: ”The inspector general has ordered full investigation into the killing.”
Tensions will now be even higher on Saturday, when Buhari is due to travel to Port Harcourt, the main city in the Niger Delta, to launch his political camapign at a rally organised by the murdered man.
But Etiebet insisted that the assassination would not keep the party away. ”I want to assure you that the ANPP will go to Port Harcourt, and people who do not love democracy had better stay away,” he said.
And the killing will also increase security fears in the northern city of Kano, the bustling commercial centre of Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, where Obasanjo is due to address a rally on Thursday.
Buhari, a Muslim, needs to make big gains in the north if he is to unseat the Christian president.
The ANPP chairman in the city, Abdullahi Abbas, said: ”The killing is tragic to our party … something has to be done to stop this violence.”
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, with an estimated population of more than 120-million, and the international community is watching the latest test facing its fragile democracy with concern.
Obasanjo’s election in 1999 marked the end of 15 years of military rule, but the poll was tightly controlled by the army and Nigeria’s civilian rulers have yet to show that they can hold free and fair elections.
Since the last vote more than 10 000 people have been killed in ethnic, religious and political violence, and many observers warn that April’s polls will be accompanied by widespread intimidation and brutality. – Sapa-AFP