Nigeria president appeals for calm
Nigeria's president called for calm and national unity today after violent riots swept across the country's Muslim north, forcing thousands to flee in the wake of the presidential election.
Authorities and aid groups have hesitated to release tolls following the riots for fear of inciting reprisal attacks, but the Nigerian Red Cross said hundreds had been wounded in the post-election violence.
In a televised address to the nation Christian president Goodluck Jonathan said that "nobody's political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian."
Supporters of opposition candidate Muslim Muhammadu Buhari set fire to homes of ruling party members in several areas across the north. Police said an angry mob also engineered a prison break.
Thousands have been killed in religious violence in the past decade in Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous nation. But the roots of the sectarian conflict are often embedded in struggles for political and economic dominance.
While Christians and Muslims have lived together in the nation for centuries, the election result showing Mr Jonathan's more than 10 million vote lead over Mr Buhari spread accusations of rigging in a nation long accustomed to ballot box stuffing.
Mr Jonathan took office last year only after the country's elected Muslim president died from a lengthy illness before his term ended, and many in the north still believe the ruling party should have put up a Muslim candidate instead in this year's election.
The violence was also fuelled by the economic despair in Nigeria's arid north.
Nigeria has a long history of violent and rigged polls since it abandoned a revolving door of military rulers and embraced democracy 12 years ago.
Legislative elections earlier this month left a hotel ablaze, a politician dead and a polling station and a vote-counting centre bombed in the nation's north-east.
However, observers largely said Saturday's presidential election appeared to be fair, with fewer cases of ballot box thefts than previous polls.
Election chairman Attahiru Jega announced results last night that showed Mr Jonathan won 22.4 million votes, compared to the 12.2 million votes of Mr Buhari.
