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Nigeria votes in crunch presidential election

Chidi Odinkalu, chairman of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, said although the election campaign was far from perfect, there were encouraging signs for democracy.

“You cannot sit down now and say General Buhari will win, or President Jonathan will win,” he told AFP.

“We are going to have to sit this out and wait and have butterflies in our stomach and that I think is a wonderful thing.”

Security has been tightened across Nigeria, particularly in the devastated northeast, where six years of Boko Haram violence has left more than 13,000 people dead and 1.5 million homeless.

Nigeria, Niger and Chad, supported by Cameroon, have recently claimed a series of successes, recapturing rebel held territory.

On Friday, Nigeria’s army claimed to have retaken Gwoza, in Borno state, from where Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau proclaimed a caliphate last year and which was considered the group’s base.

Some critics sensed a political motivation to the announcement, as well as the six-week postponement from February 14 of the election on security grounds.

There remain fears that Boko Haram will mount suicide attacks and bombings, including against polling stations, which has prompted heightened security measures.

– Divided opinion –

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Nigeria’s capital was eerily quiet on Friday, with major expressways that surround the central district largely empty and military checkpoints on major roads leading into the city.

In the market opposite the Nyanya bus terminal, bombed twice by Boko Haram within two weeks last year, opinion was divided about who would win.

“I will vote. This is my country. I have to vote,” said Esther Anthony, 23, who hails from Anambra state in southern Nigeria.

“We have to vote for our president because he has been there. He has been trying, so we have to vote him back he has done enough.”

But Abdullahi Usman Chitta Michika, who works in real estate, said: “We are tired of bombs everywhere, insecurity, kidnapping and the rest.

“It is the negligence of the president,” the 31 year old added, warning that any sniff of vote rigging will see protests on the streets.

Demonstrations will be keenly watched, with explosive violence — often along religious or ethnic lines — never far away in Nigeria.

In 2011, some 1,000 people were killed in post poll violence after Jonathan beat Buhari, and Odinkalu said more than 30 of Nigeria’s 36 states and capital territory of Abuja have already seen clashes.

Shops and offices closed early as a precaution on Friday, while long queues formed at filling stations and people stocked up on water and groceries.

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