Nigeria Goes To The Polls Amid Boko Haram Threat

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By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, in Kano

Millions of Nigerians have gone to the polls in the most hotly contested campaign since the end of military rule.

But voting - which had previously been postponed for six weeks - was hit by sporadic violence as gunman forced people to abandon polling stations in Gombe state and car bombings in Enugu state.

At least seven people were reported to have killed as militants opened fire on crowds waiting to cast their ballots.

The earlier postponement, encouraged by the military, came after officials said they were worried about security concerns caused by the terror group Boko Haram.

It was a move frowned on by international observers and heavily criticised by the main opposition candidate who saw it as a tactic by the ruling party to gain more time and more votes.

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Gallery: After Weeks Of Postponement The Election Begins In Nigeria

A woman holds her voter card to register in Daura, northern Nigeria ahead of polling stations opening

A policeman drives an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to a polling station

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Election officials arrive with electoral documents

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The main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Mohammadu Buhari, watches his wife, Aisha register to vote

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Presidential candidate, Mohammadu Buhari, of the main opposition APC, raises fist after registering to vote

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The presidential contest is a mainly two-horse race with the former military ruler General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive party (APC) attempting to unseat the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan from the People's Democratic Party.

The two rivals have been neck and neck for months now - and the outcome is too close to call for most analysts.

Voting is due to start in the afternoon once registered voters' biometric identity cards have been checked using handheld devices.

Mr Jonathan was forced to wait 30 minutes while the readers failed to identify his fingerprint.

"I appeal to all Nigerians to be patient no matter the pains it takes as long as if as a nation we can conduct free and fair elections that the whole world will accept," he said afterwards.

The closeness has led to increased tension due to fears of election violence - and the two main contenders have signed two peace agreements urging their supporters to refrain from trouble and vote peacefully.

During the past six weeks, the ruling government instigated an offensive against Boko Haram routing it from many areas it had seized.

The day before elections, the army claimed it had recaptured the town of Gwoza where the terror group had its headquarters just across the border from Cameroon.

Reports suggested the 219 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls may have been taken there as "wives" for the fighters.

But so far, there's been little information, other than the snippets given by the military, about what they found in the town or the girls' whereabouts.

President Jonathan had promised he would rid Nigeria of Boko Haram in the six weeks before the delayed polls were held - leading to criticism from much of the population about why he hadn't tackled the problem more seriously over the past six years when the extremist group has been bombing, killing and kidnapping - mainly in the Muslim north.

Kano in the north of the country has the highest number of voters in Nigeria and has a mainly Muslim population. It has also been the target of Boko Haram attacks.

In the days leading up to the polls, Kano's minority non-Muslim residents have been seen fleeing the state for fear they may be the focus of any post-election unrest.

Vigilante groups operate outside the area's mosques, wielding machetes and sticks. But the volunteers insist they are simply there to try to deter any Boko Haram activities.

"We don't like Boko Haram," one told me. "They come here and bomb and blast us and we don't like that in this country. We want peace and unity."

In the last election, in 2011, (again between the same two main contenders) election violence led to an estimated 800 deaths with the opposition decrying the result and insisting it was due to large-scale ballot-rigging.

Everyone will be holding their breath as millions of Nigerians in Africa's most populous country cast their ballots.

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