Nigeria poll boycott threat fades
Two main opposition parties withdraw threat to boycott Saturday’s presidential vote.
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“Government troops battled armed men in northern Nigeria … as tension mounted over the presidential election” |
The statement was read at the end of a meeting in the presence Atiku Abubakar, the current vice-president, and General Muhamadu Buhari – two leading opposition candidates in the presidential election.
Earlier the election commission ruled that Atiku Abubakar, the current vice-president, could stand in the vote, reversing an earlier move to exclude him after the supreme court decided on Monday that the commission did not have the right to disqualify candidates.
Abubakar, excluded from the initial list of approved candidates following corruption allegations, is one of two opposition figures expected to pose a serious challenge to the ruling party’s Umaru Yar Adua.
Gun battle
On Wednesday, government troops battled armed men in northern Nigeria, adding to the tension in the run-up to the presidential vote.
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Olusegun Obasanjo
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An army spokesman said at least 25 of the armed men were killed during the operation.
Gunfire broke out around sunrise on Wednesday near the area where a group of suspected Muslim fighters were holed up.
The same group reportedly attacked a police station a day earlier.
Residents said they believed the armed men were members of an outlawed, self-styled Islamic movement that has clashed with security forces in recent years.