KANO – The Muslim opposition candidate in Nigeria’s presidential polls rejected the results Wednesday but urged calm after deadly post-election riots, amid a rush to help nearly 40,000 displaced. Authorities say many were killed the violence, which saw corpses burnt beyond recognition and bodies reportedly thrown into wells, but have refused to give a toll, saying it could spark reprisals and would be inaccurate.
There were reports of fresh clashes in the northern state of Kaduna overnight, with a community leader telling local radio “the killing was unbelievable and the destruction is colossal.” One government official, explaining authorities’ reluctance to release an overall death toll from since the vote on Saturday, said, “I wouldn’t like to use the term massacre… some places it was terrible.”
Curfews and military patrols appeared to have brought an uneasy calm to many areas Wednesday as the thousands who fled their homes in fear took refuge at police and military barracks, sleeping in the open under trees.
More than 200 dead in unrest: rights group
KANO – Post-election unrest in Nigeria has left more than 200 people dead and hundreds of arrests have been made, a Nigerian civil rights group said Wednesday. “In the whole region, from reports reaching Civil Rights Congress, the death toll is over 200,” Shehu Sani, head of the organisation, told AFP.
The numbers were compiled through his organisation’s staff and associates. He added that more than 1,000 people had been arrested in Kaduna alone, where a 24-hour curfew had earlier gone into effect. AFP
