Lai Mohammed says desperate opposition politicians are arming Boko Haram members and bandits to disrupt 2019 elections.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says opposition politicians in the country have mobilised Boko Haram terrorists and bandits to disrupt the 2019 general election in some states.

Lai disclosed this while addressing journalists in Abuja on Monday, January 21, 2019.

The Minister accused the opposition of resulting to violence given "clear indications" that the All Progressives Congress (APC) "will win the 2019 elections with a very wide margins."

''Having realized that their fortunes have dwindled badly ahead of the polls, the desperate opposition is orchestrating widespread violence with a view to truncating the elections, thus triggering a constitutional crisis that could snowball into the establishment of an interim government," Lai said.

''Before you accuse the government of crying wolf, let me tell you, gentlemen, that we have credible intelligence that armed bandits and Boko Haram insurgents have been mobilized to engage in massive attacks and other acts of violence in several states across the country, including Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Benue, Kano, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara".

Lai Mohammed addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, January 21, 2019. Lai Mohammed [Twitter] Pulse Nigeria

The Minister said the Benue-based armed criminal group, led by Terwase Akwaza, also known as Gana, has been commissioned to strike soft targets in Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba States, while in Kano State, a group of notorious miscreants have been mobilized by some prominent opposition leaders to provoke massive chaos before, during and after the elections.

"There is also an international dimension to the evil plan. Some armed mercenaries from Niger Republic have been contracted to attack top government functionaries, including state governors, across the North-west between now and the elections".

He, however, assured of the Federal Government's commitment to a credible, free, fair and peaceful elections, hence it is taking every possible measure to counter ''these evil plans by unpatriotic anarchists''.

The Minister appealed to all Nigerians to be vigilant in the days ahead, and urged the media to help in sensitizing members of the public on the observed threats, which are capable of disrupting the elections.