By Joel Olatunde Agoi29 minutes ago
Port Harcourt (Nigeria) (AFP) - An overnight curfew was imposed in Nigeria's southern Rivers state as tensions ran high over local results of the country's general election, the state government said on Monday.
Information commissioner Ibim Semenitari said the lock-down, from 7:00 pm (1800 GMT) to 6:00 am was "to prevent the breakdown of law and order because of the tense political situation".
Rivers state in the oil-producing Delta is considered a key battleground for the presidential election, which is seen as the closest in the country's history.
The national main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged vote-rigging by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and election officials at the weekend vote.
Some 2,000 female APC supporters attempted to register their complaints with electoral officials in the state capital, Port Harcourt, but were teargassed by police, AFP reporters said.
Armed police and soldiers prevented the women, who were all dressed in black, from entering the offices, forcing them to disperse and reassemble at the government headquarters.
"What happened today was unprecedented," said APC women leader Victoria Nyeche, a local lawmaker.
"The police teargassed and injured some of us during a peaceful protest at INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission).
"All we want is a fresh election because what happened on Saturday was a fraud."
A South African non-governmental organisation, Pan African Women Projects, which observed the elections in the state, expressed anger at the teargassing of the protesters.
"We saw the women being teargassed and we don't think it was a right thing to do because under the 1995 Beijing conference, women have the right to peaceful protests without any form of molestation or violence," said Eno Ben-Udensi, from the group.
"We are going to write what happened in our final report on the conduct of the election."
The PDP has dismissed the APC's allegations of electoral fraud and its calls for the election to be rescheduled in the state, saying it was "the behaviour of bad losers".
Elections chief Attahiru Jega confirmed having received a letter from the opposition calling for a re-run and promised a "thorough investigation".
"There are many alleged cases of malpractice and we certainly pay a lot of attention to... it and if any of our staff are involved, we will apply appropriate sanctions," he said on Sunday.
At the last election in 2011, the state was won by the PDP but governor Rotimi Amaechi switched to the APC two years later and has since become a key government critic.
A separate protest by the PDP was held in Port Harcourt on Monday but they, too, were blocked by police.
Local PDP leader Bright Amewhule said: "This demonstration is to tell Jega not to listen to (the) APC that the results of the election in Rivers state should be cancelled.
"Rivers belongs to PDP and the people have demonstrated their choice through the ballot."
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