Fears of vote-rigging spark riots in North
KATSINA, (AFP) - Fears that Nigeria's ruling party would try to rig presidential polls have sparked sporadic rioting in the mainly Muslim north of the country, officials said Sunday.A number of incidents were reported across the vast region, where early results favoured the main opposition candidate, ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, while President Goodluck Jonathan appeared to be strong in his native south.
Riots broke out in Misau in Bauchi state on Saturday after allegations of fraudulently marked ballots.
"There were riots in Misau by a mob which burnt down our party offices and an (electoral commission) office in the town over spurious allegations of electoral rigging," said Abdulmumini Kundak, an adviser to the state governor.
"The allegations were unfounded and ridiculous."
An explosion also hit a hotel in Kaduna on Saturday evening, wounding eight, according to police, but details remained unclear.
And a mob burnt the house of a government official in Jada in northern Adamawa state after accusations that he had hidden ballot boxes there, said state police commissioner Musa Daura.
"The house was completely burnt," he said. "We've launched an investigation into the incident. No casualty was recorded."
Daura said similar incidents occurred in Mubi, also in Adamawa, and also reportedly in Azare in Bauchi state.
In Bauchi and the north's main city of Kano, residents reported that some voters slept outside ballot-counting centres, refusing to leave to make sure the tally was not rigged.
Police in Jalingo, the capital of northern Taraba state, fired tear gas at a crowd that insisted on following the electoral commission staff to a vote-collating centre to ensure results were not overturned, a police officer said.
Saturday's presidential election has been given an initial thumbs up by observers, but early indications showed sharp divisions between the mainly Muslim north and mostly Christian south.
While Jonathan was the favourite going into the race in Africa's most populous nation, turnout appeared especially strong in the north, Buhari's stronghold.
Nigeria's 150 million population is roughly divided between Christians and Muslims.
Explosion rocks hotel in Kaduna as voting wraps up
KATSINA, (AFP) - An explosion rocked a hotel in Kaduna on Saturday as voting in crucial presidential elections wrapped up, but it was unclear if there were casualties, police said.
"There was an explosion tonight at a hotel in the Kabala West area of the city," said police spokesman Aminu Lawal. "We don't know what caused the explosion yet or if it was a deliberate attack."
There was conflicting information on casualties, with a spokesman for the national emergency management agency saying there were initial unconfirmed reports of two people being caught up in the blast.
Vice President Namadi Sambo is from the state of Kaduna, where the city of the same name is located.
Two blasts had earlier gone off in the northeastern city of Maiduguri -- one on Friday night and one Saturday morning -- but no casualties were reported.
Voting on Saturday was generally calm in most of the country despite the blasts and a number of other incidents as Africa's most populous nation sought to hold its cleanest polls for president in nearly two decades.
Voters stand up to be counted amid hope for fair vote
OTUOKE, (AFP) - The polling centre along the only paved road in this Niger Delta town had a line of people who hoped not only that a native son would win, but that their votes would finally count.
"I am excited and elated that I am a living witness to history being made," said Wisdom Bassey, a 32-year-old medical student, at the polling place in President Goodluck Jonathan's hometown of Otuoke.
Jonathan's house, damage still showing from a bomb attack several years ago, was nearby, while local fishermen worked the waters of a stream where villagers also bathed.
"This election gives us the opportunity to decide our future, and I am here to be a part of it," said Bassey.
Similar sentiments were expressed throughout Nigeria as Africa's most populous nation set out to do something it has failed at since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999: hold a truly free and fair election.
There was enthusiasm among voters who said they sensed change was happening, pointing to last weekend's parliamentary polls seen as a significant step forward for the country.
They showed up despite violence in the run up to polls that has killed dozens, gathering early before the 8:00 am start in a number of areas, including in Lagos, the economic capital of some 15 million people.
Rickety wooden tables served as polling places and, in an almost surreal image, the usually traffic-choked streets of the city were clear because vehicles were restricted, allowing children to play football instead.
Soldiers set up at checkpoints, searching the insides of cars and making sure those who wanted to pass had the proper accreditation.
"I left my house at 6:00 am and I rode my okada to get here," said Agbolade Aluko, a 28-year-old university student at a polling centre at Igbogbo on the outskirts of Lagos, using the local term for a motorcycle.
"I want to vote because I want a good leader to emerge. I am voting for my future."
There were overzealous police in some spots. One officer at a Lagos polling centre shouted at voters to stay in line, while also making sure no one brought their children with them as they approached the ballot station.
He ordered everyone to keep their hands out of their pockets for security reasons.
At another area, a 68-year-old blind man was among those who gathered, being led by one of his sons.
"I have come to vote so that my children can have a bright and better future," Bashiru Dada said.
In the city of Daura in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, hundreds cheered and yelled as ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, Jonathan's main challenger, showed up at his polling place.
Shouts of "Allahu Akbar!" could be heard as youths climbed on a nearby rooftop to get a glimpse of Buhari, a stern politician who has built a reputation as a fighter of corruption, though his regime in the 1980s was accused of major rights abuses.
"Nigeria is only for the trustworthy," one shouted in a show of support for the candidate known for his "war against indiscipline" while in power.
In a contrast with Nigeria's raucous south at Buhari's polling place set up in front of a mud house, women and men lined up separately -- a common circumstance in the north because of religious beliefs.
'Islamist' gunman kills two on eve of crucial Nigerian poll
KATSINA, (AFP) - A gunman suspected of being a member of radical Islamist sect Boko Haram on Friday shot dead two people in the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, on the eve of presidential poll, police said.
He fired at people, some of who tried to apprehend him after he was spotted carrying a gun, killing two and critically injuring seven others, including two soldiers, a senior police officer told AFP.
"The attackers are suspected to be members of the outlawed Boko Haram sect...," he added.
The gunman managed to escape in the melee that ensued and the police launched a manhunt for him, the policeman said.
It was the latest in a string of killings blamed on the Boko Haram group which has waged a low-level insurgency since it staged an uprising in northern Nigeria in 2009 that was brutally put down by security forces.
Since 2010 attacks attributed to the sect have left dozens dead, most of them policemen.
Vote count begins after crucial presidential election
ABUJA, (AFP) - Nigeria counted votes on Sunday after a crucial presidential election and a bid by Africa's most populous country to hold its cleanest polls for head of state since the end of military rule.
Millions turned out to vote in Saturday's election that President Goodluck Jonathan was favoured to win, and results from a handful of areas showed him ahead, but it was far too early to draw any conclusions.
The electoral commission has said it expects to release full results within 48 hours after the end of balloting.
Voting was generally calm in most of the country, though three explosions hit the north -- one on Friday night and two on Saturday -- with several wounded reported from one.
The main opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, alleged reports of fraud, but several observers gave the vote an initial thumbs up, stressing it was vital for Nigeria to set a positive example for the continent.
"I am hoping we are witnessing the giant of Africa reforming itself and getting its house in order and its affairs right," said Botswana ex-president Festus Mogae, the head of observers from the Commonwealth.
In the capital Abuja, a crowd gathered under the rain to watch votes being counted Saturday evening, recording the process with their mobile phones as an umbrella protected the ballots.
"Nigeria is now experiencing a true democracy, where we the politicians have to go to the people," Jonathan said after voting in his home state of Bayelsa in the oil-producing Niger Delta region.
Long lines formed at polling stations, particularly in the north and in Abuja, though turnout appeared to be less strong in the economic capital Lagos.
"I am excited because I am voting for change," said Susan Thompson, a 32-year-old tailor who jostled for space in line at a polling place in a slum outside the capital Abuja.
Jonathan has staked his reputation on the conduct of the polls, repeatedly promising a fair election in the continent's largest oil producer with a history of vote fraud and violence.
Buhari, 69 and an ex-military ruler, benefits from significant support in the country's north and has developed a reputation as an anti-graft figure, though his regime in the 1980s was also accused of outrageous rights abuses.
"We are still receiving reports of electoral fraud, of ballot stuffing in some places, but people are going to (electoral commission) offices to lodge complaints," he told journalists after casting his vote.
An enormous effort had been undertaken to hold a credible vote, but violence posed a risk, with bomb blasts and other attacks having killed dozens in the run-up to polls, including during last week's parliamentary ballot.
More than 73 million people registered to vote.
In an example of how difficult bringing about such change in Nigeria can be, a first attempt at holding parliamentary polls on April 2 had to be called off when material and personnel failed to arrive in many areas.
When the parliamentary poll finally did go ahead on April 9, officials and observers described it as a significant step forward.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party lost ground in the parliamentary vote, and opposition parties restarted negotiations afterward to unite against Jonathan.
But those talks collapsed, leaving the opposition with a difficult path to unseat an incumbent running for a party that has won every presidential poll since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999.
Some analysts have said, however, that a runoff cannot be ruled out.
Jonathan, 53 and a southern Christian, is the first president from the Niger Delta.
He had an almost accidental rise to power that culminated with him being thrust into office last year following the death of his predecessor, Umaru Yar'Adua.
His calm approach has led some to call him weak, while others say it is better suited to bringing about change in a nation of some 250 ethnic groups and a population roughly split between Christians and Muslims.
Buhari alleges cases of vote fraud
DAURA, (AFP) - The main opposition candidate in Nigeria's presidential election on Saturday, Muhammadu Buhari, alleged after voting that there had been reports of ballot fraud.
"We are still receiving reports of electoral fraud, of ballot stuffing in some places, but people are going to (electoral commission) offices to lodge complaints," the ex-military ruler told journalists in the local Hausa language.
Switching to English, he said, "there are nocturnal movements since last night where airplanes are taking ballot cards to some of the states where they are being thumb-printed in several places.
"Some printing presses were printing presidential cards in some of the states and now the cases are with the police."
Africa's most populous nation is attempting to break with a series of violent and deeply flawed ballots and hold a credible presidential vote.
President Goodluck Jonathan has promised a free and fair election and is the favourite to win
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