Violence Breaks Out in Nigeria Following Election

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Moments ago, Prof. Jega, the Chairman of the Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that President Goodluck Jonathan has won last Saturday’s presidential election. The ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won the election with 22 million votes. Its main opponent, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) received 12 million votes. The results were announced amidst outbreaks of violence in several parts of Northern Nigeria.

Nigerian authorities are battling to contain the violence that has broken out in several cities in the North following last Saturday’s election in which the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan was cruising to victory. Supporters of his main opponent, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, are burning down government offices, homes of people in Northern Nigeria who supported the ruling People’s Democratic Party, churches and businesses.

The violence started when INEC results released by the INEC showed that President Jonathan had won over 20 million votes to Buhari’s 11 million votes. With two more states left to be announced, the challenger, Buhari, had no way of surmounting the lead of the incumbent president.

Rioters are protesting what they described as widespread rigging of the election in favor of the ruling party in the South-South and South-East. The president received over 99.9% in some states in the South. Such results are considered improbable by northern supporters of Gen. Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

The government of President Jonathan is scrambling to get statesmen from the North to appeal for calm in the area. He has deployed the police and the military to the streets of Northern Nigeria to help contain the violence.

In Kano state where the home of the emir was set on fire, a 24-hour curfew has been imposed by the governor. Curfew was also declared in Kaduna the home state of the Vice President.

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