Abuja — Nigeria is increasingly tense in the countdown to presidential elections on Saturday. President Goodluck Jonathan is facing an exceptionally strong challenge from former military ruler, General Muhammadu Buhari. Never has a presidential race been so close, and with that comes an increased risk of major political violence.
In a statement on Thursday, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said, "the footprint of pre-election violence has spread" and election-related trouble "in some form has been reported in nearly all the states of Nigeria". Violence of this intensity occurring before an election is atypical of Nigerian's recent poll history, it noted.
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