Deadly bombs hit Nigeria ahead of more elections

Three people have been killed and others injured in a northern Nigerian town as the country prepares to hold a third round of national elections, this time for state governors, following earlier votes for parliament and president.

Blame for the multiple blasts in Maiduguri on Sunday night and Monday morning was laid at the feet of an Islamist group called Boko Haram underlining the sectarian tensions in Nigeria. The bombs targeted a hotel bar, a bus station and a police unit.

Boko Haram meaning literally “books are forbidden”, first emerged in 2003. It is opposed to Western values and wants to create a puritanical Islamic state in Nigeria. Hundreds died in July 2009 when Boko Haram militants clashed with police and soldiers.

Political violence has characterised every election in Nigeria’s history and this one, though better, is no exception in that respect.

Murderous riots erupted in the Muslim north after the victory of Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian southerner, in presidential elections earlier this month. Perhaps 500 died in the rioting centred on the northern towns of Kano and Kaduna.