Dominic Ogbonna
Commentary
But why are they rioting? After 50 years of support from the South-South, the best reward these folks can give is to riot? Jonathan must not cuddle murderers and trouble-makers. Anyone who wants to murder Nigerian citizens, or turn Nigeria into Rwanda, must be decisively confronted.
First they would deny it.
Then they would become angry.
Then they would accept it.
As INEC declared results indicate President Goodluck Jonathan has won Nigeria presidential election, Hundreds of youth in Sokoto Sunday barricaded streets leading to Sultan Palace chanting Allahu Akbar, setting bonfires and abusing Sultan Sa'ad Abubakar and Governor Wamakko.They accused the Sultan and the Governor of "double standard to Islam". The Nigeria Police has deployed Mobile Police to the scene and they used tear Gas to disperse the protesters.
At the tine of writing this report, reports available to elombah.com indicate the city is still boiling as hundred of youth rampaged over the results!
Violence was also reported in Gombe, Kaduna and Yola. Other unverified reports claim scores of cars have been burnt in Katsina.
Gombe State government has already imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew to prevent an escalation of the crisis.
"12:30am we are still awake here in Rigasa as sound of gunshots rent the air", said a citizen reporter from Kaduna.
Another Kaduna resident told elombah.com; "Please pray for us. It's not fun, we are in fear, not sure of there target, police patrol is on but the spread is overwhelming them. It's a gorila rioting; Bon-fire, thick smoke as if building, petrol station on fire, youths with weapons doing hide and seek with police, anything PDP is a target. Now we are indoors. The areas affected include Tudub-wada and the whole of the western bye pass, from badiko to kabala west boundary".
The Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, is on course to retain power after an election intended to draw a line under decades of coups, violence and vote rigging. Jonathan had an unassailable lead as votes were tallied from around Nigeria, despite a strong showing by his rival Muhammadu Buhari in his mainly Muslim strongholds.
In Adamawa State, the protesters allege that the state governor, Murtala Nyako, changed election result figures overnight.
The supporters had earlier threatened violence if the believed their hero was cheated out of victory. "If Jonathan wins it's because he used his government power. It looks like he has done too well," Habib Bazallahi, a local official from Buhari's party, told Reuters.
"Buhari says he won't go to court if he loses but that doesn't mean us, his supporters won't fight. We are ready. We're going to look for Kalashnikovs, bazookas ... There is no going quietly this time."
In Yola, Violent protest erupted in Yola, disturbing the peace in state, as irate supporters of the Congress for Progressive Change protest the victory of president Goodluck Jonathan in the state. The Youths claim the election has been rigged.
Reports from Yola say; "Yola is burning; literally. Northern youths are burning tires on highways and puling down all PDP posters and symbols. Shops are hurriedly closing and a sense of danger looms this evening in Jimeta area of Adamawa State. It is feared that these riots will spread upwards to Maiduguri where no fewer than five bombs were set off in the last ten days; killing several people including policemen".
The crowd of mostly young men besieged traders at the Jimeta modern market to show their displeasure, burning posters of Mr Jonathan and that of the Adamawa state governor, Murtala Nyako. They also took to the street chanting, Buhari "mu ke so, ba mu so hanni." This means รข€˜it is Buhari we want, we don't want an unbeliever.'
Properties worth several hundred thousand of naira is estimated to have been lost, as arsonist touched properties in the wake of the ptotest.
Other reports say trouble began when a southeast trader, allegedly requested a goat from one northerner with whom he had a bet. The bet was that if Jonathan wins in Adamawa, the northerner will slaughter a ram for him and vice versa. But when the result for the state was released, showing Mr Jonathan won, the Igbo trader had, in keeping with their agreement, sought for the ram.
It was then that some angry CPC sympathizers gave the trader a beating of his life; a development that triggered a chain of events which some irate supporters of the CPC latched unto to set bonfires on the road and vandalise vehicles.
However, a detachment of mobile police men have put the development under control.
On Saturday Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari alleged the airlift of thumb-printed ballot papers across the country casting the credibility of the presidential election results in doubt. Mr. Buhari spoke to journalists shortly after casting his vote at his home in Daura, Katsina State.
Buhari said he will not go to court this time to protest the results but the general, however, said his party is at liberty to go to court where real cases of rigging are discovered.
Nigerians wait with bated threat to see whether the contestants will accept the election result tomorrow and congratulate the winner
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