Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Ten killed in Nigerian violence ahead of poll
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (0)
Full Focus
Photos of the week
Our top photos from the past week. Full Article
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Reid says Republicans want shutdown to close clinics
11:23am EDT
Wisconsin court race won't be certified without probe
4:48pm EDT
With no budget deal, government shutdown looms
|
4:22pm EDT
Facebook now wants a say in computer hardware
10:24am EDT
WRAPUP 1-Japan to stop pumping radioactive water into sea
11:27am EDT
Discussed
120
U.S. to reach debt limit by May 16: Geithner
96
Reid says Republicans want shutdown to close clinics
81
Stumbling blocks remain in budget fight
Watched
NATO air strike hits Libyan rebels
Thu, Apr 7 2011
7.4 magnitude quake strikes Japan
Thu, Apr 7 2011
Students clash at Madrid rally
9:29am EDT
Ten killed in Nigerian violence ahead of poll
Tweet
Share this
By Nick Tattersall
LAGOS (Reuters) - A suspected bomb blast killed at least six people at a Nigerian election office on Friday and four people were shot dead in a political shooting hours before parliamentary polls.
The violence was a further blow...
Email
Print
Related News
U.N. finds 118 bodies in western Ivory Coast
4:13pm EDT
Explosion hits Nigeria election office ahead of polls
2:22pm EDT
Battle rages in Ivory Coast, U.N. fires on Gbagbo bases
Mon, Apr 4 2011
Suicide blasts at Sufi shrine in Pakistan kill 41
Sun, Apr 3 2011
Ivory Coast calm as rivals hold positions
Sun, Apr 3 2011
Analysis & Opinion
Fight against corruption good; what about the method?
Can autocrats tolerate citizen participation?
Related Topics
World »
By Nick Tattersall
LAGOS |
Fri Apr 8, 2011 3:50pm EDT
LAGOS (Reuters) - A suspected bomb blast killed at least six people at a Nigerian election office on Friday and four people were shot dead in a political shooting hours before parliamentary polls.
The violence was a further blow to hopes of orderly elections in Africa's most populous nation, holding its parliamentary election a week later than planned on Saturday because of logistical chaos.
The secret service said six people were killed in the explosion in Suleja, on the northwestern edge of the capital Abuja, but security sources said as many as eight people had died and at least a dozen were injured.
"Six people have been confirmed dead. We don't have much detail," Marilyn Ogar, spokeswoman for the State Security Service (SSS), told Reuters.
Yushua Shuaib, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said the blast was believed to have been caused by a bomb and there were several casualties.
Officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said they were hurrying to the scene. Security forces cordoned off streets in the town, where three people were killed and 21 injured by an explosive device thrown from a car at an election rally last month.
Nigeria is due to hold parliamentary elections on Saturday, presidential elections a week later and governorship polls in its 36 states on April 26.
The run-up to the polls has been marred by isolated bomb attacks on campaign rallies, violence blamed on a radical sect in the remote northeast and sectarian clashes in the center of a nation roughly split between a Muslim north and Christian south.
Human Rights Watch estimates that more than 85 people have been killed in political violence linked to party primaries and election campaigns since the start of November.
SHOOTING IN NORTHEAST
Violence has broken out on the eve of elections in Nigeria in the past and has often been used to intimidate the local population by making them too fearful to come out and vote.
Gunmen shot dead four people in the northeastern state of Borno, including an official from the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), as they prepared to distribute election materials on Friday hours ahead of the parliamentary polls, police said.
"The PDP local government secretary of Shani is among the four people shot dead this evening at the police station while the distribution of election materials was going on," a local police officer told Reuters, asking not to be named.
Senior Borno PDP politician Saidu Pindar confirmed the attack to Reuters.
Radical Islamist sect Boko Haram has been blamed for months of targeted killings of police officers and traditional leaders in Borno, but the violence has become increasingly political in the run-up to elections and many analysts believe the sect's name is being used as a front for political thuggery.
1
2
Next
World
Tweet this
Share this
Link this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service
Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Saturday, 9 April 2011 Peru run-off to pit Humala against Fujimori: poll
|
Protesters pack Cairo square, pile pressure on army
|
At least 10 Iranian exiles killed in clashes in Iraq
|
Ten killed in Nigerian violence ahead of poll
|
House votes against FCC open Internet rules
|
Google's Page makes first changes to management
|
Steve Wozniak says would consider return to Apple
|
YouTube launches live streaming page
|
NXP not for sale, would consider a rich offer: CEO
|
EA shoots for Masters to lift golf game sales
|
American Idol: 5 theories on Pia Toscano's shock ouster
|
First book of John Lennon letters to be published
|
Ben Affleck eyeing role in Great Gatsby
|
News of the World admits hacking UK celebrity phones
|
Katherine Heigl to produce, star in HBO movie
|
Real Housewives of Washington D.C. get the axe
|
UK singer Pete Doherty given jail warning
|
Weinstein Company responds to sabotage claims
|
Theater review: 'Company'
|
Ivory Coast's Gbagbo regains ground
|
Japan to stop pumping radioactive water into sea
|
Leftist Humala woos ethnic vote, widens lead in Peru
|
Israel kills Hamas commander in Gaza strike
|
Deadly bombing mars new attempt at Nigerian poll
|
Egypt military beats protesters, fires shots
|
Google seals ITA deal but antitrust review looms
|
Pregnant Tina Fey to host Saturday Night Live
|
Social Network actor lands role in new Batman
|
Prince to play 21-night residency in Los Angeles
|
How Arthur's alcoholics have changed
|
Gucci Mane arrested for pushing woman out of car
|
New fighting erupts in Libya
|
Gunman kills five in Dutch shopping mall shooting
|
Syrian forces fire at mourners after mass funeral
|
Yemen pulls envoy from Qatar in row over Gulf plan
|
Iraqi cleric warns of violence if U.S. troops don't go
|
U.S.-Pakistan intelligence operations frozen since January
|
Sidney Lumet, director of classic films, dies: report
|
News of the World faces rush of phone hack claims
|
All Headline News | Breaking News and Headline
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights