3 bomb blasts hit Nigeria on voting day

2011-04-26 14:22

Maiduguri - Three bomb blasts hit the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri as the country prepared to vote in state governors' elections on Tuesday, police said, but no casualties were reported.

"We've recorded three bomb blasts this morning in three different parts of the city," said Borno state police commissioner Michael Zuokumor. "Fortunately, nobody was hurt in these incidents."

The three had all been planted by the roadsides, according to local residents.

Previous such incidents have been blamed on an Islamist sect known as Boko Haram, which launched an uprising in 2009 and has carried out scores of attacks in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, in recent months.

Zuokumor said security had been tightened in the state, with no one allowed on the streets except to vote. They would also not be allowed to carry anything to polling centres except for their voters' cards.

"It is evident that these bomb attacks were meant to scare away voters since nobody was targeted in the blasts," the commissioner said.

"We have intensified security that will make it difficult for these evil-minded people to attack polling stations."

Voter turnout appeared low after the blasts.

Four explosives

A food vendor, Kadiru Babagana, 31, sat with his friends in front of his house, contemplating whether to go to the nearest polling station after they heard a loud explosion before balloting started.

"I am willing to exercise my franchise but I am being cautious about the situation in the town," he said. "I and my colleagues need more assurances from the security agencies that all shall be well."

The first explosion went off around 06:30 while two others exploded almost simultaneously 30 minutes later, residents said. Polling stations opened at 07:00 GMT.

Maiduguri was hit by three bomb attacks involving four explosives on Sunday night and on Monday morning, killing at least three people and wounding 15.

Most of Nigeria's 36 states went to the polls for governorship and state assembly ballots on Tuesday, the last of three landmark elections this month.

The vote was being held under tight security after the April 16 presidential election won by incumbent Goodluck Jonathan set off an explosion of rioting in the country's mainly Muslim north.

More than 500 people were killed in the unrest, a local rights group says.

- AFP