Army battles gunmen

ABUJA – Troops in northern Nigeria battled gunmen blamed for a deadly attack a day earlier on a police station, with gunfire erupting around dawn yesterday and witnesses reporting casualties.

The violence in Kano has added to tension across Africa’s most populous nation days before a presidential vote meant to usher in the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in a nation whose history since independence in 1960 has been plagued by military coups. The main opposition parties joined forces yesterday to demand the annulment of the results from April 14 balloting for state governors and legislators they branded ‘sham elections’ and called for a postponement of the presidential vote.Scores of people have died in election-related violence in recent months, including at least 21 during the April 14 vote.Nigerian media reported scattered protests on Monday as the electoral commission announced huge leads for the governing party in the state elections.Angry young Nigerians torched electoral offices in several states and in one instance, burned an election officer alive.In Kano, an opposition stronghold of 3 million, youths barricaded streets and burned tires after a delay in results from the state elections.The situation calmed late Monday when it was announced that the opposition gubernatorial candidate had won, only for new violence to break out Tuesday, when gunmen attacked a police station, killing 12 policemen and one civilian, the wife of an officer.Gunfire broke out again in Kano around sunrise Wednesday near the area where a group of suspected Islamic extremists were holed up after their police station attack.Residents said they believed the attackers were members of an outlawed, self-styled Islamic extremist movement that has clashed with security forces in recent years.Gunfire could be heard and witnesses said they saw injured troops being rushed from the scene.Police on Tuesday announced a ban on political rallies across this nation of 140 million, and said security forces had been given orders to act to put down violence.Amid the violence and charges of vote-rigging, 18 parties, including those of the main opposition candidates General Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Atiku Abubakar, called on Nigerians to ‘protest in a nonviolent manner’ against the state election results.The parties also called for a new electoral commission.The parties demanded a ‘level playing field’ for all candidates and threatened to boycott Saturday’s vote setting up Nigeria’s first-ever transfer of power from one civilian leader to another.Nampa-APThe main opposition parties joined forces yesterday to demand the annulment of the results from April 14 balloting for state governors and legislators they branded ‘sham elections’ and called for a postponement of the presidential vote.Scores of people have died in election-related violence in recent months, including at least 21 during the April 14 vote.Nigerian media reported scattered protests on Monday as the electoral commission announced huge leads for the governing party in the state elections.Angry young Nigerians torched electoral offices in several states and in one instance, burned an election officer alive.In Kano, an opposition stronghold of 3 million, youths barricaded streets and burned tires after a delay in results from the state elections.The situation calmed late Monday when it was announced that the opposition gubernatorial candidate had won, only for new violence to break out Tuesday, when gunmen attacked a police station, killing 12 policemen and one civilian, the wife of an officer.Gunfire broke out again in Kano around sunrise Wednesday near the area where a group of suspected Islamic extremists were holed up after their police station attack.Residents said they believed the attackers were members of an outlawed, self-styled Islamic extremist movement that has clashed with security forces in recent years.Gunfire could be heard and witnesses said they saw injured troops being rushed from the scene.Police on Tuesday announced a ban on political rallies across this nation of 140 million, and said security forces had been given orders to act to put down violence.Amid the violence and charges of vote-rigging, 18 parties, including those of the main opposition candidates General Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Atiku Abubakar, called on Nigerians to ‘protest in a nonviolent manner’ against the state election results.The parties also called for a new electoral commission.The parties demanded a ‘level playing field’ for all candidates and threatened to boycott Saturday’s vote setting up Nigeria’s first-ever transfer of power from one civilian leader to another.Nampa-AP