The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, the most prominent armed group in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta, says it has bombed three oil pipelines. Gilbert da Costa in Abuja has more in this report for VOA.

The main militant group in restive southern Nigeria said Tuesday that it has bombed three major oil pipelines.

Six Nigerian and 108 other passengers are on the manifest of the missing Kenya Airways plane that must have crashed in the swampy region of Douala in Cameroon, last Saturday.

The dreaded Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has denied and refuted the Nigerian government broadcast that MEND supports the massively rigged elections of last April.

But international observers said that even Zimbabwe had better elections than Nigeria. So, the international community will be on tenterhooks as Nigerian masses march out Tuesday, to protest against the massively rigged elections of last April.

Nigeria is going ahead with preparations for the inauguration of a new government in May, despite strong criticisms of recent elections. The organizing committee for the handover held its first meeting in Abuja. Gilbert da Costa in Abuja reports that the opposition has vowed to make the transition very turbulent.

"Nigerians queued up last Saturday to vote and followed was oppression of the people's will. This has to be rejected." Umar Aliyu said to the congregation of hundreds of Muslims, including the aggrieved presidential candidate retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

If President Thambo Mbeki could be so irrational in his diplomatic hypocrisy as seen in his rapport with President Robert Mugabe, then it is not surprising that he is supporting the criminal ruling party in Nigeria.

The last elections in Nigeria have left the political class more polarized than ever before as former political allies have suddenly become sworn enemies while others have become strange bedfellows too.

Monday, April 23, 2007, Alhaji Umaru Yar' Adua, the presidential candidate of the ruling Peopes Democratic Party (PDP) has been declared the winner of the Presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nigeria. But, the opposition parties have refused to accept the result of the polls. Both the local and international observers have called the elections undemocratic and a fraud.

As millions of Nigerians go out to cast their votes today, they are doing so with their hearts in their mouths, because the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has waged a do or die war on the opposition parties in the contentious presidential and legislative elections.

Niger Delta militants attacked government offices on the eve of the historic Presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria.