Nigeria

LAGOS, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian troops have rescued 14 people who were being held hostage by bandits in the northern state of Kaduna, an official said on Saturday.

The rescue mission was carried out recently by Nigerian troops who embarked on an operation targeted at a hideout of the bandits in the Chikun local government area of the state, said Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan in a statement.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Six states in Nigeria on Friday night withdrew a suit asking the Supreme Court to void the result of the just-concluded presidential election, the latest twist in several challenges facing the ruling party’s victory in the vote.

The states — led by governors in the main opposition party, which finished second in last weekend’s election — had accused Nigeria’s electoral commission of failing to follow its own rules and election laws in conducting the vote and announcing a winner, according to court documents.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s opposition renewed calls for the election result to be overturned on Thursday, a day after the country announced its new president-elect.

“We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians,” third-place Labour Party candidate Peter Obi said at a news conference in the capital. He said that the election would be remembered as one of the most controversial in Nigeria’s history and that it was marred by irregularities.

ABUJA, March 1 (Reuters) - Nigeria’s labour party led by presidential candidate Peter Obi will mount a legal challenge against the election of new president-elect, Bola Tinubu, the party's vice presidential candidate said on Wednesday.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerians awoke to a new president Wednesday, with ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu declared the winner of the country’s election. As he thanked his supporters he appealed for reconciliation with his rivals, who are already demanding a revote in Africa’s most populous nation.

LAGOS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Provisional results from Nigeria's disputed presidential election over the weekend showed Bola Tinubu from the ruling party in the lead, a Reuters tally of votes in 25 of the country's 36 states showed on Tuesday.

LAGOS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi, whose campaign attracted young people and urban voters fed up with corrupt politics, won most votes in the commercial hub of Lagos state, where Africa's biggest city is located.

Nigeria's electoral commission began announcing state-by-state results in the national elections on Sunday, though it is not expected to name a victor in the race to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari for several days.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — More people in Nigeria cast ballots Sunday morning even though voting in the presidential and parliamentary elections of Africa’s most populous nation was supposed to end Saturday.

Votes were cast in Benue, Adamawa and Bayelsa states even as the counting of ballots ballots was underway Sunday in places where polls had closed, election observers said. Preliminary results were expected as early as Sunday evening.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Voters in Nigeria cast ballots Saturday to choose a new president as Africa’s most populous nation struggles with a bank note shortage that some observers fear will result in a lower than expected turnout.

The presidential and parliamentary elections come amid fears of violence, from Islamic militants in the north to separatists in the south, though officials stressed that this year’s vote would not be postponed as the last two presidential elections were.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Police in Nigeria arrested a lawmaker who allegedly was carrying nearly $500,000 in cash in a battleground state a day before the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections, raising fresh concerns Friday about the influence of money in the vote.

Chinyere Igwe, a member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, was found traveling with the money inside a bag in his car around 2 a.m. along with a distribution list, Rivers state police spokesperson Grace Iringe-Koko said.