Yenagoa – Heavily-armed troops fanned out across the streets of Yenagoa, capital of the oil-rich southern Nigerian state of Bayelsa, on Saturday morning, following shootings and bombings the previous night – the eve of the country’s landmark elections.
“The soldiers have taken over the streets, they are heavily armed and they are checking every vehicle.
“They ask people to raise their hands and conduct body checks. They said they are looking for militants,” a witness said.
Gunfire broke out at Creek Hotel, close to Government House, on Friday evening, when soldiers clashed with unknown assailants attempting to enter the town where the ruling party’s vice presidential candidate, Goodluck Jonathan, was staying.
It was unclear whether Jonathan, also governor of the Bayelsa state, was targeted by the gunfire.
A high-ranking state government official in Yenagoa, speaking on anonymity, said Jonathan had been taken to a safe location.
Jonathan is a member of Nigeria’s ruling party PDP.
According to an AFP reporter, the scene was littered with empty shells on Saturday morning and the area cordoned off.
“We have repelled them but we are cordoning off the place to make sure that the militants don’t launch another attack”, a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Presidential elections to see the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country’s post-colonial history began at 0900 GMT on Saturday, a week after violence marred governorship and state assembly elections.
Twenty-one people died in the violence.