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By Aminu Abubakar (AFP) – 42 minutes ago

19nigeria_cnd-articleLarge KANO, Nigeria — Nigerian security forces were on high alert on Friday ahead of next week's state governors' polls after a surge of deadly unrest following President Goodluck Jonathan's vote win last weekend.

A Nigerian rights group, Civil Rights Congress, has put the death toll at 246 based on what it says are reports from a network of coordinators, though officials have declined to verify any figures.

"There are tales of continued attacks in rural areas because the policing is concentrated in the urban centres, while rural areas are vulnerable," said Shehu Sani, the head of the organisation.

Authorities have refused to provide a death toll from the violence, citing a fear of reprisals and the difficulty of coming up with an accurate number, with reports of bodies thrown in wells, burnt beyond recognition or immediately buried.

Military patrols and curfews have largely restored calm, but many of the estimated 60,000 displaced were seeing conditions worsen at the police and military barracks where they had taken refuge.

A Red Cross official also spoke of a "disturbing" situation in the south of Kaduna state, where heavy clashes had broken out between Christians and Muslims earlier in the week that police were unable to control.

Kaduna state, where Vice President Namadi Sambo is from, is majority Muslim, but parts of its south are mainly Christian.

A community leader from the south of Kaduna has said "the killing was unbelievable and the destruction is colossal."

Jonathan said in a televised address to the nation on Thursday that this week's violence was a reminder of the events that led to the country's 1967-1970 civil war, calling it "more than mere political protests".

"Clearly they aim to frustrate the remaining elections. This is not acceptable," he said of the rioting that began sporadically over the weekend before quickly spreading throughout the country's mainly Muslim north.

He said security was being tightened nationwide and vowed that Tuesday's state polls in Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer would go ahead.

The electoral commission later in the day however delayed the elections in the hard-hit states of Kaduna and Bauchi to Thursday in a bid to allow tensions to further subside.

Jonathan, a southern Christian, defeated his northern rival, ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, who has alleged rigging but has dissociated himself from the violence.

The election exposed the country's deep regional divisions. Nigeria's 150-million population is roughly divided between Christians and Muslims and has some 250 ethnic groups.

The mainly Muslim north has long been economically marginalised compared to the oil-rich south, which is predominantly Christian.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor meanwhile announced he was probing the violence to determine whether it had been planned or organised.

The rioting occurred despite what many observers have described as a reasonably well-organised election, marking a major step forward for a country with a history of deeply flawed ballots. They also note, however, that major problems remain.

A joint statement from the US and European Union missions in Nigeria welcomed the fact "that independent observers have commended significant improvements in the conduct of the election".

It also condemned the unrest and said "those responsible for violence must face due process and be brought to justice."

Source: AFP