Nigeria: 12 Policemen, Woman Killed in Kano After Elections

An irate mob killed 13 people Tuesday, in an attack on a police station in the Panshekara district of Kano in Northern Nigeria. The dead included the district police officer in-charge of the station, his wife, and 11 other officers. Reuters reported that a divisional police officer was killed in a similar attack the previous week.

There have been violent protests all over Nigeria since the ruling party; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was accused of rigging the last state assembly and governorship elections on Saturday April 14, 2007. A popular Islamic leader was killed on the eve of the ill-fated elections and over 52 people have been killed, including nine police officers and four soldiers in violent attacks. The protesters torched and destroyed campaign offices of the PDP, police stations, official vehicles and other properties in the mayhem.

The President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo said the elections were fair, but the
International observers have rejected the results of the stage-managed elections in over 10 states of the federation and the President of the Nigerian Senate; Dr. Ken Nnamani has rejected the election in Enugu state. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cancelled the election in Imo State and many opposition leaders have been arrested and detained for leading public demonstrations against the PDP and INEC.

The Niger Delta militants have also condemned and dismissed the botched elections and threatened to launch more attacks on the PDP led government in the host communities of the multinational oil companies where scores of foreign oil workers have been kidnapped and thousands have fled.