At least 17 killed in poll violence in northern Nigeria: media

Xinhua, April 20, 2011

At least 17 people have been killed in different parts of northwest Nigeria's Gombe state after the presidential election, medical doctors said on Tuesday.

"We have at least 5 verified deaths and many more injuries, the chief medical director, Gombe State Specialist Hospital, James Mahadi told Xinhua.

Also, the acting head at the Federal Medical Center in Gombe, Ali Misheliza said 12 persons have been confirmed dead, while 71 injured persons are still being taken care off.

Violence has spread in northern Nigeria as youths protest the results of Saturday's presidential election being released state- by-state.

Already, a 24-hour curfew has been imposed in Kano and Kaduna a densely populated cities in northwestern Nigeria, while a dusk-to- dawn curfew has been imposed in Bauchi and Katsina.

The riots also spread to Abuja, Lafia, Taraba and Kaduna, all in the north central, and Yola in the northeast.

It has been reported that the residence of Namadi Sambo, the country's vice president, in Kaduna was torched in the riots.

Churches and other public buildings were also burnt in the Barnawa area of Kaduna, where the main opposition party, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), won, beating Sambo's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Pandemonium broke out in parts of the Federal Capital Territory in the early afternoon as thugs tried to unleash mayhem in parts of the city, leading to stampede.

The rioters smashed cars in Wuse, leading to the closure of banks and other business premises, including the largest market in Abuja.

The riots spread to Kubwa, Mararaba and Nyanya in the outskirts of the town but police and soldiers deployed tanks to quell them.

Two people were killed in Mutum Biyu in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba on Sunday following the announcement of the election.

Local and international observers adjudged the election and free and fair and results indicated that President Goodluck Jonathan is having a landslide victory.

Opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) is popular among Muslim northern Nigerian youths but makes little appeal to the Christian south, where Jonathan comes from.

Buhari, a former military ruler, had become a recurring decimal, having contested in all presidential elections since 2003.