Violence in Nigeria ahead of polls

KANO, Nigeria (AA) – There have been attacks in Nigeria ahead of the February 25 general elections where a new president, senators and House of Representatives will be chosen.

The spate of attacks across the country have created fear among citizens.

On Sunday, gunmen attacked a police station in Anambra state, killing three officers. Another attack was reported in Kogi state on Tuesday. The attackers used explosives and destroyed the local government secretariat.

Also, the US Embassy in Nigeria has alerted its citizens in the country of possible protests and advised them to restrict their movements on February 25 and March 11, the days for presidential and National Assembly as well as governorship and state assembly elections.

The embassy in a notice on its website advised its nationals to avoid rallies as “they can turn violent with little or no notice.”

They also advised American citizens in Nigeria to have three days of food and water at home in case movement restrictions are extended beyond election days.

The notice, titled “Security Alert – Possible Protests Leading to Elections and Restricted Movements on Election Days,” said: “The government of Nigeria will restrict the movement of all personal vehicles on election days across the country.

“Information from the government of Nigeria indicates that only law enforcement personnel and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accredited election observers will be allowed to move freely along the roads.

“Based on past election practice, we anticipate personal vehicles will be blocked from any and all attempted road movement from 00:00 until 18:00 February 25 and 12 midnight until 18:00 March 11,” it said.