Boko Haram was unable to disrupt elections in Nigeria but its allegiance to Islamic State shows the group has an agenda that reaches well beyond Africa's most populous country, a UN envoy said Monday. Mohammad ibn Chambas, the UN envoy for West Africa, told the Security Council that while Boko Haram fighters staged attacks on election day in Bauchi state, north-east Nigeria, "they didn't have an impact on the voting process."
"Boko Haram was unable to disrupt the electoral process," he told the 15-member council.
Nigerians voted Saturday and Sunday in presidential and parliamentary elections, one of the closest in the country's history, amid fears of violence.
Chambas said that Boko Haram's announcement that it had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, "whether for publicity reasons or to tap into ISIL support," shows that "Boko Haram's agenda goes well beyond Nigeria."
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