Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Electoral commission chairman Mahmood Yakubu announced the move

Nigeria has delayed its presidential and parliamentary elections for a week, in a dramatic night-time move.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) made the announcement just five hours before the polls were due to open on Saturday.

"Proceeding with the election as scheduled is no longer feasible," commission chairman Mahmood Yakubu said, citing logistical issues.

The two main candidates have asked people to remain calm and be patient.

Mr Yakubu said the difficult decision to postpone was needed to ensure a free and fair vote.

The presidential and parliamentary votes have been rescheduled for Saturday 23 February.

Governorship, state assembly and federal area council elections have been rescheduled until Saturday 9 March.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Main opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar urged his supporters to be patient

The announcement came after an emergency meeting at the Inec headquarters in the capital, Abuja.

What's the reaction?

Nigeria's two main political parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP), swiftly condemned the move and accused each other of trying to manipulate the vote.

President Muhammadu Buhari, of the APC party, urged calm and appealed to Nigerians to "refrain from civil disorder and remain peaceful, patriotic and united to ensure that no force or conspiracy derail our democratic development".

His main rival Atiku Abubakar has called for calm over the next seven days saying: "I'm appealing to Nigerians to please come out and vote and I'm asking them to be patient about it."

Voters have reacted with a mixture of anger, frustration and resignation.

Responses to Inec's tweet about the postponement were brutal with one man calling it "the height of incompetence".

Another described Inec as "a huge disgrace".

Many had made long journeys to vote. In the northern town of Daura, Musa Abubakar, who had travelled 550km (342 miles) from Abuja to take part in the election, told the BBC that he "couldn't believe" what had happened.

Hajiya Sa'adatu said she was "greatly disappointed" to learn of the delay when she came out to cast her vote in the northern city of Kano.

Image caption Nigerians like Hajiya Sa'adatu only learned of the news when they woke up

But others have been saying that the postponement should mean that everything goes smoothly next week.

Michael Momodu, in Delta state south-east Nigeria, said that he still believed that "the right things will take place" and that "God will deliver".

Why have elections been postponed?

Election chief Mahmood Yakubu said the decision was made following a "careful review" of the election "operational plan", adding that there was a "determination to conduct free, fair and credible elections".

He said the delay was necessary to give the commission time to address vital issues and "maintain the quality of our elections", but did not provide further details.

In the past two weeks several Inec offices have been set alight, with thousands of electronic smart card readers and voter cards destroyed.

There have also been claims of shortages of election material in some of the country's 36 states.

Image copyright Reuters

'Sour taste in voters' mouths'

By Damian Zane, BBC News, in Lagos

At first it seemed like another bout of fake news, but disbelief has been replaced by outrage and disappointment.

The last elections, in 2015, were also postponed, but the announcement coming five hours before the vote is a new record.

Those Nigerians who had intended to vote would have planned their day around it. The whole country was essentially going to shut down as travel was restricted, so the only options were to stay at home or go to the polling station.

Many have also already travelled to the places where they were registered to vote. They will be left wondering what they will do for the next week.

The country is known for pulling things off at the last minute, but this time it wasn't to be. This will have left a sour taste in the mouths of the electorate, which is already cynical about the political process.

Nigeria has been forced to bolster its security, with the run-up to the elections marred by violence.

On Friday, officials in north-west Nigeria reported the discovery of the bodies of 66 people, 22 of them children and 12 women, killed by "criminal elements".

How important is this poll?

The future of Africa's most populous nation and largest economy is at stake.

Whoever wins will have to address power shortages, corruption, security problems and a sluggish economy.

There are 73 registered candidates in the presidential election, but campaigning has been dominated by President Buhari, 76, and his main challenger, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, 72.

Mr Buhari says he has built a strong foundation for prosperity, but his rival says Nigeria is not functioning.

Both men are from the mainly Muslim north of the country. While both are in their 70s, more than half of Nigeria's 84 million registered voters are under 35.

Has Nigeria had election issues before?

Yes. Nigeria is not new to voting postponements - previous elections in 2011 and 2015 were delayed by several days.

In 2015, the country ordered the closure of all its land and sea borders ahead of tightly contested elections amid reports that foreigners planned to cross into Nigeria to vote.

That same year, one of the candidates died while the votes were being counted.</s>Nigeria bolstered security in much of the country on Friday on the eve of a presidential election in Africa's largest democracy where past ballots have been marred by violence, voter intimidation and vote rigging.

The two leading candidates in Saturday's vote are President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office in 2015, and Atiku Abubakar, a businessman who served as vice president from 1999 to 2007.

The country, which has Africa's largest economy, is dealing with pockets of instability: authorities are trying to tackle a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the northeast and communal violence between farmers and nomadic cattle herders in central states, along with banditry and kidnappings in the northwest.

Dozens of combat policemen and members of other security forces were deployed from police headquarters in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state that has been worst hit by Boko Haram and its off-shoot, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).

"There are about 14,000 security personnel deployed for the election purpose. This deployment also includes 11,000 policemen," said Borno's police commissioner, Damian Chukwu.

Military vehicles and soldiers were seen moving toward volatile parts of the state, which has seen an uptick in attacks by ISWAP in recent months.

The group said it carried out an attack on the convoy of Borno's governor earlier this week.

In an outbreak of violence in the northwestern state of Kaduna 66 people were killed by gunmen on Friday, including 22 children and 12 women, the Kaduna government said.

The killings did not appear to be election-related. The state government gave no motive for the attack but local residents, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was a reprisal attack following violence last year.

The United Nations ordered its staff not to travel to the parts of Kaduna affected by the violence.

In neighboring Kano, a hotly contested state that is the economic hub of the north, police said at least 15,000 officers would be deployed for the election with a further 5,000 from other services. That compares with just over 10,000 officers on duty on a normal day.

Kano is the most populous state in the northwest, a region that accounts for nearly a quarter of Nigeria's voters. It has been a Buhari stronghold in the last three elections and his posters outnumber those of Atiku.

In Adamawa, Atiku's northeastern home state where he will vote, a police spokesman said more than 7,500 officers had been deployed, significantly more than the usual number on the streets.

Atiku spent much of the day in meetings with members of his party in Yola, the state capital of Adamawa.

Buhari worshipped at a mosque in Daura, his hometown in the northwest, which sits near the border with Niger.</s>Abuja, Nigeria - Gunmen have killed more than 60 people during attacks on two communities in Nigeria's northwestern Kaduna state.

A government statement on Friday, which confirmed the attacks, said security personnel had been "deployed to the area and arrests have been made".

"Security agencies today reported the recovery of 66 bodies that were killed in attacks by criminal elements on various dispersed hamlets in the Maro Gida and Iri axis of Kajuru," Kaduna governor's spokesperson Samuel Aruwan said.

"Among the victims were 22 children and 12 women. Four wounded persons rescued by the security agencies are now receiving medical attention," he added.

The attack has caused panic among residents of the state.

"I hope the security agencies can step up their plan and ensure there are no more killings, especially this election period to reduce the tension," Kaduna resident Abdulkadir Inuwa told Al Jazeera.

The incident comes hours before the presidential and legislative elections on Saturday.

Election boycott

The senior Nigeria researcher of the International Crisis Group, Nnamdi Obasi, told Al Jazeera that the attacks may affect the elections.

"These attacks and the fear of reprisal will certainly affect voter turnout in Kajuru local government area. following similar killings in 2018, they have also heightened long-running tensions in parts of Kaduna state, creating a more combustible atmosphere around the elections," Obasi said.

Security is a major concern before Saturday's vote.

Kaduna has a history of election violence.

In 2011, hundreds were killed in the state during post-election violence after acting President Goodluck Jonathan beat Muhammadu Buhari to the presidency.</s>Nigeria’s election commission has postponed presidential and parliamentary elections by one week, just hours before the polls were to open.

The chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, told reporters Saturday morning — about five hours before polls were supposed to open — that “this was a difficult decision to take but necessary” for successful elections to take place.

He gave few details about why the change was made, but said “proceeding with the election as scheduled is no longer feasible.”

Local media had reported that voting materials had not been delivered to all parts of the country.

An official of the election commission told Reuters news agency that “some result sheets and some ballot papers are reportedly missing.”

The election is expected to be a tight race between incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and his main challenger, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Nigerian authorities increased security across much of the country Friday ahead of the elections.

Officials in Nigeria’s Kaduna state Friday reported at least 66 deaths in a wave of violence. State officials said the victims included 22 children.

Kaduna is an area known for its ethnic tensions, Christian-Muslim violence and election-related unrest.

Hundreds of people were killed in the region in 2011 when then-opposition candidate Buhari, a Muslim former military ruler from the north, lost to Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the south.

President Buhari, 76, who beat Jonathan in a rematch in 2015, is running for re-election against main challenger Abubakar, a 72-year-old businessman and former vice president.

Along with ongoing violence in Kaduna, Nigeria is dealing with the decadelong Boko Haram Islamist insurgency in the northeast, and banditry and kidnappings in the northwest.

Before the announcement of a postponement, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with both President Buhari and Abubakar by phone on Friday, and “underscored U.S. support for the Nigerian goal of free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections.”

Pompeo welcomed both candidates’ pledges to accept the results of a credible election process and said the United States wants to see elections that reflect the will of the Nigerian people, according to a State Department statement.

Pompeo noted the “deep and long-standing partnership” between the United States and Nigeria, Africa’s most-populous democracy and the continent’s largest economy.</s>Abuja, Feb 16 (IANS) At least 66 people were killed on Friday by unidentified gunmen in Nigeria’s Kaduna state, officials said.

The Kaduna state government said in a statement that eight settlements were attacked, Xinhua news agency reported.

The attack took place on the eve of Nigeria’s presidential election.

Twenty two children and 12 women were among the victims.

The state government said the cause of the violence was unclear, and warned against any reprisal attacks.</s>LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities in Nigeria's Kaduna state say at least 66 have been killed just before the country's presidential election.</s>The Kaduna State Government has confirmed the killing of 66 persons in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.The government condemned the killing and warned all communities against instigating attacks or reprisals. A government statement signed by Samuel Aruwan, the spokesperson of Governor Nasir El-Rufai, …Read more via Newtelegraph – http://bit.ly/2SQcMEV Get More Nigeria Metro News</s>Authorities in Nigeria's Kaduna state are reporting at least 66 deaths in a wave of violence just before the country's presidential election.

Samuel Aruwan, a spokesperson for Kaduna state's governor, said on Friday that the victims include 22 children.

He blamed a "criminal element" for the deaths, which have taken place this week, in the Kajuru local government area.

One resident blamed the killings on fighting between Christian farmers and Fulani Muslim herdsmen.

Deadly clashes between the two communities have erupted in recent years in southern Kaduna as the groups compete for land and water.

Nigerian voters are headed to the polls Saturday amid concerns about violence in many parts of the country.

Also Read: Suspected Boko Haram attack 'kills many' before Nigeria polls</s>PREMIUM TIMES has obtained more details of the attack the Kaduna State government said killed 66 people.

The attack occurred on Monday and was a reprisal after an earlier incident that left many dead, a resident said.

The details came amid controversy over the accuracy of the details provided by the Kaduna government.

Gov. Nasir el-Rufai on Friday announced the recovery of 66 bodies on the eve of the now-postponed general elections, leading many to believe the killings took place that day.

Mr el-Rufai said the victims were killed by “criminal elements” in various dispersed hamlets in the Maro Gida and Iri axis of Kajuru LGA.

The settlements affected include Ruga Bahago, Ruga Daku, Ruga Ori, Ruga Haruna, Ruga Yukka Abubakar, Ruga Duni Kadiri, Ruga Shewuka and Ruga Shuaibu Yau, he said.

The government did not state which security outfit provided information on the killings and gave no further details on the nature of the attack.

The former head of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, said during a Channels TV programme that he could not confirm the killings took place. He said he contacted several sources in the area.

Mr Odinkalu said the report of the killings may have been part of the design by senior politicians in the country to create scenarios that could be used as a reason for the postponement of the elections.

The Peoples Democratic Party in Kaduna also questioned the death toll given by the governor, saying only 11 people died.

PREMIUM TIMES worked for hours to verify the report, and established that Mr el-Rufai’s announcement was based on a confidential situation report (Sitrep) by Operation Yaki, a security team comprising of the Police, Army and the State Security Services.

According to the details of the report, Operation Yaki said that a patrol team of 15 soldiers that accompanied Fulani residents of the area, who were searching for their missing siblings, found the 66 bodies, amongst them women and children. They also saw several properties destroyed.

A PREMIUM TIMES reporter in the state also spoke to residents who gave details of the attack.

Benjamin Maigari, a local who said he travelled to the area ahead of the elections, said there were two attacks: the first on the Adara people of Maro and a second, a reprisal on the Fulani in the community.

He said the reprisal claimed more lives than the initial attack.

“Towards the early hours of Monday, around 1a.m., there was an attack on a community called Ungwar Bardi in Maro, Kajuru Local Government. The people there are predominantly Adara. So, there was an attack on them and 11 people were killed,” he said.

“The locals, that’s the Adara people suspected that it was the Fulani that attacked and decided to have a reprisal attack that Monday. The reprisal was that same Monday. They attacked the hamlets of the Fulani within the community and killed the Fulanis. Women, children, inclusive. Even the one (attack) on Adara people, women and children were killed.”

He said police visited the area to access the situation on Monday and met with the district head and the divisional police in Kajuru Local Government.

The police are yet to react or officially give an update on the development.

When contacted, police Public Relations Officer in Kaduna, Yakubu Sabo, said the force would soon release an update on the incident.

It is not clear why the state government delayed the announcement till Friday.

PREMIUM TIMES could not get clarification from the governor’s spokesperson, Samuel Aruwan, as calls put through to his line were not answered. He did not also respond to text messages.

In October 2018, the paramoun ruler of Adara, Agom Maiwada Galadima, was killed by unknown persons days after he was abducted.

In response, the Kaduna State Government imposed a 24-hour curfew on some Kaduna metropolis such as Kasuwan Magani, Kajuru, Kateri and Kachia.

The government denied the killing had ethnic or religious undertone in the attack.

“This is a struggle between good, decent, law abiding people trying to uphold the peace and criminals who want to divide and destroy. It is not a struggle between religious or ethnic groups. Let no criminal find succour in faith or tribe,” Mr el-Rufai said at the time in a statement.

Before the monarch was whisked away, four persons, including a policeman, were killed along Kaduna/Kachia road by the alleged abductors on Friday October 19.

His driver and the wife were freed by the kidnappers, leaving only the chief in their custody. Days later, he was killed.</s>The Kaduna state government, Friday evening, disclosed that 66 persons were killed by unknown gunmen in Kajuru local government of Kaduna state, less than twenty four hours to the conduct of the presidential and parliamentary elections.

A statement issued by the spokesman to the governor of Kaduna state, Samuel Aruwan, said already, security agencies are on the trail of the assailants.

The statement however did not provide details about where or how the incidence happened but said among the victims were 22 children and 12 women.
66 people were killed by gunmen in Nigeria's Kaduna State including 34 victims being either women or children. The attack happened one day before the scheduled election before it was delayed another week.