(Adds details of sanctions, background, quote)
WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The United States on Monday
imposed additional visa restrictions on Nigerians over
election-related activities in the African nation, the State
Department said, accusing them of being responsible for
undermining the democratic process.
The restrictions were imposed on the individuals, who were
not named, "for their actions surrounding the November 2019 Kogi
and Bayelsa State elections and in the run up to the September
and October 2020 Edo and Ondo State elections," the State
Department said in a statement.
"These individuals have so far operated with impunity at the
expense of the Nigerian people and have undermined democratic
principles," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in
the statement.
In 2019, the United States imposed visa restrictions on
Nigerians it said had undermined elections in February and March
of that year.
The State Department said it warned in a statement last year
that it would consider consequences, including visa
restrictions, on those responsible for organizing
election-related violence or undermining the Nigerian democratic
process.