Skip to main content

Source: Bomb kills 8 at election office in central Nigeria

From Christian Purefoy, CNN
An official of the independent Nigerian electoral commission carries ballot boxes on April 2.
An official of the independent Nigerian electoral commission carries ballot boxes on April 2.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The emergency agency says more than seven people are seriously injured
  • There have been riots, bombings and assassinations ahead of April elections
  • Most days bring stories of violence and intimidation across the country

Ibadan, Nigeria (CNN) -- A bomb exploded Friday at the Independent National Electoral Commission office in Suleja in central Nigeria, officials said, just one day before the country is set to start voting in national elections.

A government official, who was not authorized to speak on the record about fatalities, told CNN eight people died in the attack.

Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, said more than seven people were seriously injured.

The blast is the latest in a string of bombings, riots and assassinations in Nigeria ahead of what has turned out to be the most expensive election in Africa's history.

Election reform via Twitter in Nigeria
RELATED TOPICS
  • Nigeria

"We condemn this cowardly and dastardly action, which seems designed to instill fear in Nigerians and paralyze their aspirations for peaceful and credible elections," the chairman of the electoral commission, Attahiru Jega, said in a statement. "Our deep sympathies go to the families of all these young Nigerians who lost their lives or were injured."

Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 85 people have been killed in political violence in the run-up to the delayed national elections, which will be held this Saturday, the following Saturday and April 26.

Most days bring stories of violence and intimidation across the country.

Twitterers watch Nigeria's notorious vote

An Islamic militant group killed three people last month at a rally in the north. At the event, police said they stopped "two heavy explosives" from detonating in the crowd.

Too often, however, police are unable to stop the bloodshed, which is reminiscent of the violence that marred the country's 2007 elections.

The European Union has described those elections as the worst anywhere in the world, with rampant vote rigging, violence, theft of ballot boxes and intimidation.

A new election chief promised "free and fair" elections this year, but the concern is that such promises will be derailed by continued widespread violence.

As Africa's most populous country and its largest oil producer, Nigeria is important. Yet, despite its enormous oil wealth, 80% of the population lives on less than $2 a day, according to the United Nations.

"Make no mistake about it: This test of honour is inescapably a collective one for all Nigerians," the Independent National Electoral Commission said in a recent statement. "It is our national honour at stake, and our relevance in the affairs of the modern world being redefined."

Separately on Friday, one man was killed and another seriously injured in a blast in the northern city of Kaduna, state news reported.

Police rushed to the scene and found unexploded dynamite there, according to the Kaduna State Police Commissioner Haruna John, Voice of Nigeria reported. They found more dynamite at a house belonging to he injured man, the outlet said.