Africa

Africa

Governor aspirant, six others assassinated in Nigeria

28 January 2011 22:46 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Gunmen shot dead a leading governorship candidate and six others on Friday in northern Nigeria in a suspected political assassination ahead of April elections, the state police commissioner said, APA reports quoting AFP.
"He was shot and killed this afternoon. Obviously it’s a political assassination. It was himself and six others," police chief in Borno state Mohammed Jinjiri Abubakar told AFP.
Witnesses said that four gunmen arrived on two motorbikes as Modu Fannami Gubio was sitting outside after greeting his father following Friday’s Muslim prayers in the city of Maiduguri.
According to Abubakar, "he was trailed and attacked while greeting his father."
Others killed were his younger brother, security aides and political associates, Abubakar said.
Gubio was the candidate from the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP), the ruling party in Borno state.
An Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has been blamed for a series of similar recent killings in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, but police have said some of the incidents may be linked to politics.
While members of the Islamist sect, which launched an uprising in 2009 and has targeted police and local leaders in recent attacks, may emerge as suspects, there have also reportedly been deep divisions within the ANPP.
Local media have reported on opposition from within the party to Gubio’s candidacy, which was said to be backed by outgoing Governor Ali Modu Sheriff.
He was facing a stiff challenge from the Peoples Democratic Party, which dominates Nigerian politics nationally.
Nigeria has a history of violent and flawed elections.
Gubio’s killing is the most high profile so far in the run up to the April general election. A recent surge in violence had already included bombings, political attacks and sectarian clashes that have left dozens dead.
President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to hold a credible vote, which will take place with authorities seeking to contain violence in several regions of the country.
Besides the Islamist attacks in the country’s north, clashes between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups have occurred in central Nigeria.
The oil-producing Niger Delta region has been relatively calm in recent months, but some observers have warned that violence could again flare up there.