dead a leading candidate
for governor and six
others in northern Nigeria
Friday at around 3pm in a suspected
political assassination
ahead of April elections,
the state police
commissioner said.
The shooting of politician
Modu Fannami Gubio
outside his father's home
in Maiduguri by what
witnesses said were
gunmen on motorbikes
came amid an upsurge in
violence in Nigeria,
including bombings and
clashes between Christian
and Muslim ethnic groups.
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.
"He was shot and killed
this afternoon. Obviously
it's a political
assassination. It was
himself and six others,"
Borno state police chief
Mohammed Jinjiri
Abubakar told AFP.
Streets in Maiduguri
emptied as word spread of
the killings, witnesses said,
with security forces
searching for the gunmen.
"Streets are deserted.
Everybody has moved
indoors for fear of what
might follow the attack,"
resident Hamidu Bukar
said by phone.
Witnesses said that four
gunmen arrived on two
motorbikes as Gubio was
sitting outside after
greeting his father
following Friday's Muslim
prayers.
"He was trailed and
attacked while greeting
his father," Abubakar said.
Others killed included
Gubio's younger brother,
security aides and political
associates, Abubakar said.
Residents said a brother of
outgoing governor
Governor Ali Modu Sheriff
was among the victims,
but police had not
confirmed this.
Gubio was the
gubernatorial candidate of
Borno state's ruling All
Nigerian People's Party
(ANPP).
While members of Boko
Haram -- which launched
an uprising in 2009 and
has targeted police and
local leaders in recent
attacks -- may emerge as
suspects, there are also
reports of 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 Sheriff.
He was also facing a stiff
challenge from the
Peoples Democratic Party,
which dominates Nigerian
politics nationally.
Nigeria, Africa's most
populous nation, has a
history of violent and
flawed ballots.
Gubio's killing is the most
high profile so far in the
run up to the April general
election. A recent surge in
violence, including
bombings, political attacks
and sectarian clashes, have
left dozens dead.
President Goodluck
Jonathan "unreservedly"
condemned the killings in
a statement saying "the
era of do-or-die politics in
Nigeria is over."
Jonathan has vowed to
hold a credible vote as
authorities seek 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 flare
up there again.
Attacks by the Islamist
sect in Nigeria's north
have killed more than 80
people in the past seven
months, security sources
say.
The group also claimed
responsibility for a series
of Christmas Eve bomb
blasts in the central city of
Jos that killed dozens, but
police cast doubt on the
claim and blamed politics
in the run up to the vote.
The ANPP is one of the
few Nigerian opposition
parties with a sizeable
representation in
parliament.
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