On March 26, 2015, just two days before the historic presidential election, the two leading candidates, President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP and General Muhammadu Buhari of the APC, signed a second peace accord in Abuja.
The accord, facilitated by the National Peace Committee led by former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, was a crucial step in de-escalating tensions that had reached a fever pitch during the campaign. Both candidates publicly shook hands and committed to accepting the outcome of the polls and urging their supporters to remain peaceful.
This moment is widely credited with helping to ensure the relatively peaceful conduct of the 2015 elections, which saw the first democratic transfer of power from an incumbent to an opposition candidate in Nigeria’s history.