ABUJA, Nigeria – Angry opposition supporters in Nigeria's Muslim north set fire to homes bearing ruling party banners Monday and heavy gunfire rang out in several towns as election officials released results showing the Christian incumbent had gained an insurmountable lead.

Results from Saturday's election released live on national television indicated President Goodluck Jonathan had a commanding lead of more than 10 million votes with only two states left to be announced. The Muslim north had largely voted for former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari.

. . .

Federal emergency management agency spokesman Yushua Shuaib declined to release casualty figures out of fears it would further stoke sectarian violence.

"Such a thing can encourage a reprisal attack," he said.

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Mariory:

Too f**king late. They are no longer fooling anyone. Those that were undecided before now have first hand evidence of what Buhari and his people are about.

dayokanu:

And where is the retardeen who calls himself president when places are on fire

Pataki:


Nigeria deserves the leader it get. Enough said.

Pennywise:

I dont want to live in a country where Bahari is president. This man is a lunatic possessed by demons. Let him go back to his people for further incitement.  He must enjoy d blood letting of southerners. I pity the southerners who threw away their votes at him.

His dream of leading a democratic Nigeria is forever dashed in his life time. Let him go back up north to start a rebel army.Astute, pious and disciplined man indeed. Complete nonsense and a waste of time. His ambition got the better of him. Things could have been diff if he had stepped down for Ribadu.

Kilode?!:

My brother You are being unfair to Buhari. He's been down this road before and did not incite violence, The people of the North have never been down this road in a long time.

See the difference?


We all need to look a bit deeper and cast our eyes beyond these names, Nigeria needs to be restructured. This is a good opportunity to propose that.

I hope we will not go back to bribing these stvpid leaders with billions till when another section feels cheated again cos they lost access to Federal Oyel money.

This is not about Buhari, this is about the Injustice of the Nigerian system.

This is our "Archduke Franz Ferdinand" moment, we can take advantage of it or let it deteriorate into anarchy.

I hope we have leaders with the balls to face the real issues, else we will get calmed then resume again in a few years when another section feel muscled by our all powerful central government.

ochukoccna:

@ post, it is nauseating to say Buhari is directly involved in the violent outburst up north
When Goodluck said MEND was not involved in the Abuja bomb blasts, did that make him a militant?
Prior to the elections, there was violence thus you must ask what were the security agencies doing to curtail an aftermath of violence?
I may not have interacted with Gen Buhari closely but I have had the opportunity to watch Tunde Bakare from close quarters and despite his fiery nature, he is a man of peace
Birds of the same feather ,we are told, flock together
Thus I believe Buhari has no hand in this violence
Don't hang a dog to give it a bad name
When the 2007 elections were rigged, did violence not break out in the South West including Edo?
I CONDEMN THE VIOLENCE IN ITS ENTIRETY but how come the security forces were caught napping?
What is their intelligence gathering capabilities?
Did they not anticipate something lie this happening with all the bombs that had been going off prior to the elections?
The root of this problem is not the recent elections but PDP's internal zoning estrangement which almost set Nigeria ablaze
It greatly polarised the country into pro north [Northern Elders Forum] and pro south [GEJ's camp]
Can you recall Northern youths threatening to deal with their leaders who supported Jonathan to claim PDP's ticket?
Did the security agencies take them serious, I doubt.
Protesting that CPC was rigged out is just a pretext
Blame PDP and their devilish zoning pact
If there was honour among thieves, it would never have gotten to this
GEJ's ambition and the Northern PDP elites intransigence nurtured this seeds
Non the less,STOP THE SENSELESS VIOLENCE

broda, are u aware that it was anounced in most mosques in kano that all muslims shld vote for buhari, why dont u think thesame imams have told his fellowers to protest against the results. bros buhari is behind this hate or love it.

namfav:

the youth in the north have every right to protest, protests are protected under the constitution, the elections were rigged and jonathan should not be accepted as leader until inec reviews the results and the process

belabela:

I have listened to many comments over the protests in the North in the last one week and my conclusion is that many of our so called [b]educated Nigerians are just fairly better in reasoning than the illiterates in the Society.[/b]It is unfortunate that some innocent people (children, corp members, traders etc) lost their lives during the post election protest/violence. It is however appalling that some so called elites just open their mouth and put blame on whosoever they think should get it.

PDP rigged elections across Nigeria including the North of Nigeria in both NASS and presidential elections. A corper in Zamfara told me he was offered 120,000 naira on April 16 by the PDP agent which he collected. He said but his colleague rejected the offer. I quickly put a call through to my sister who is working with INEC in one of the Northern states and she confirmed that not only corpers were bribed but INEC staffs, security personnel, etc. I enquired from her if the PDP was planning to win the state but she replied that the PDP only aims to win 25% in her state which is very doubtful they would win without some "help" Reports from some states in the South west is not also different as reliable source informed me how unused ballot papers were thumb printed for the PDP in Ondo State to ensure Mr Jonathan win overall majority of votes. The fact is that Jonathan and PDP released some billions into each state to make sure the PDP win at first ballot.

When violence started in the North the hoodlums first attacked their leaders (Northern leaders) who have connived with the PDP leadership to ensure Jonathan win 25% of the votes. After that they proceeded to attack those who partake in the PDP loot which included the corpers. It is unfortunate that innocent corp members were attacked and some who were faithful to their call lost their lives and properties when these hoodlums decided to take justice into their hands. In the characteristics of every chaos in the north it soon turned into a religious fight.

Blaming a party is uncalled for here. When IBB annulled elections in 1993 how many of the violent protesters in Lagos were members of the SDP? Would it be right to have blamed MKO Abiola for the violence in Lagos then? or when Abiola died in 1998 and many Hausas were killed in Lagos would it be right to blame the defunct SDP or NADECO for the chaos? When people feel cheated they react.

It is regretful that lives were lost during the protest, but while we condemn these hoodlums, the blood of those who died in the last election is also on the PDP and Mr Jonathan who decided to tamper with the people's will in order to achieve their selfish aim.

Unbiased:

The issue of Almajiri in the Northern Part of this country should be addressed the same way Niger Delta matter was addressed. Until we see these group of people as a threat to our National Unity we will continue to have reoccurrence of these kind of social maladies.These guys are just ready tools of violence in the hands of the Northern elites at the press of a bottom they are unleashed, Some of them do not even know what they were fighting for! We have witnessed the Appearance of Poverty and Illiteracy, President Jonathan should come to the aid of these miscreants and Give them Compulsory Education. just a thought!