Nigerians cast votes on Saturday to elect a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, with many hoping the next leader will steer Africa's most populous nation and biggest economy on a new course after years of worsening violence and hardship.
By evening, some polling stations were already counting ballots, while voting was still going on at others and had not taken place elsewhere.
The electoral commission said the official results could be expected late on Sunday.
Polling stations were scheduled to open at 8.30am, although the start of voting was delayed by several hours in some areas because elections officials were late.
“We are still waiting on them as you can see. I'm here and everyone else is here. So I'm eager to vote, to cast my vote, to perform my constitutional right,” said Daniel Kessy, who was among those waiting to vote in the city of Kano.
The main candidates in the most open contest since Nigeria switched from army rule to democracy in 1999 are two political veterans from the two main parties and a candidate from a minor party who opinion polls suggest has a chance thanks to support from young voters.
Mr Buhari, a retired army general, is stepping down after serving the maximum eight years allowed by the constitution, having failed to deliver on his pledge to bring back order and security across Nigeria, Africa's top oil-producing nation.
More than 93 million people are registered to vote for the next president and members of the National Assembly.
Officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission cited technical problems with a new biometric anti-fraud voter accreditation system, the late arrival of vehicles to transport them and the absence of voter registers as causes of delays.
“It is frustrating that Inec are not prepared for us. All we want is just to vote,” said Sylvester Iwu, who was among a large crowd waiting at a polling station in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State in the southern oil-producing Niger Delta.
About 176,600 polling stations were scheduled to be open between 8.30am and 2.30pm. In past Nigerian elections, voters in some areas have complained that polling stations opened hours late or not at all.
The run-up to the vote has been marred by violence, a pattern seen in previous Nigerian elections. The killing of a senatorial candidate in the volatile south-east region on Wednesday was the latest in a series of serious incidents.
The election comes as Nigerians are struggling to cope with a shortage of cash caused by a botched plan to swap old bank notes for new ones. The shortage has wreaked havoc on people's daily lives and led to violence at banks and cash machines.
The new president will also have to grapple with problems ranging from high inflation, deep poverty and energy shortages, to an Islamist insurgency in the north-east, industrial-scale oil theft in the south and rampant crime everywhere.
For the election, land borders were closed, soldiers were patrolling the streets in several states and movements were restricted in an effort to boost security.
The main contenders in the race are former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, 70, of the ruling All Progressives Congress, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, 76, of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, 61, of the smaller Labour Party.
Mr Tinubu and Mr Abubakar are both political heavyweights with decades of networking behind them and bulging campaign coffers. Both Muslims, Mr Tinubu is an ethnic Yoruba from the south-west and Mr Abubakar is a Fulani from the north-east.
Mr Obi, a Christian from the Igbo ethnic group, has less of a political machine behind him but has used a slick social media campaign to generate huge enthusiasm among young voters, with some even calling themselves the “Obidients”.
Nigeria has a long history of electoral fraud and violence, though its polls have been getting gradually cleaner in recent cycles. The presidential candidates and parties pledged on Wednesday to support a peaceful and transparent process.
Inec says it has introduced new technology and procedures to ensure this election is free and fair, such as a Bimodal Voter Accreditation System that will identify voters using biometric data.
The commission says mobile phones are not permitted in voting booths because in the past people have used them to take photos of their ticked ballot papers to show to candidates who have offered to pay for their votes.
Despite such precautions, analysts have warned there were still risks from the dearth of cash, which could make hard-pressed citizens vulnerable to vote-buying by candidates, and a shortage of fuel that could make it hard for the electoral commission to send staff and equipment to all areas.
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
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New UK refugee system
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- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
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What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
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Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.