Nigerian government reportedly postpones Feb. 14 elections amid Boko Haram violence

Nigerian troops on guard.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Jon Gambrell, File)

A Nigerian official told The Associated Press on Saturday that the country will postpone its presidential and legislative elections, originally scheduled for Feb. 14, and that Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission would officially announce the decision later in the day.

The six-week postponement would come amid violent new offensives from extremist group Boko Haram. Militants responded to news that the African Union would send 7,500 troops to retake swaths of Boko Haram-controlled Nigeria by attacking several villages in neighboring countries Cameroon and Niger this week, killing at least 100 civilians and wounding more than 500 people.

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.