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Clashes between rival political parties kill seven in Nigeria

Aisha Alhassan (C) is set to become Nigeria’s first elected female governor.

At least seven people have been killed in clashes between the supporters of rival political parties in Nigeria’s eastern Taraba State after an election dispute.

Clashes broke out in the town of Wukari on Sunday after a court invalidated the election win of the state governor and declared another politician as the new leader.

“Seven people were killed and 15 injured in fighting between supporters of PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) and APC (All Progressives Congress) in Wukari following the election tribunal verdict overturning the governorship election in favor of the APC,” Taraba state police spokesman Joseph Kwaji said.

Kwaji said that several homes and businesses were burnt in the violence that started on Saturday and continued through Sunday. However, residents in Wukari, some 220 kilometers (140 miles) from the state capital, Jalingo, put the death toll at 13 and the number of injured at 39.

On Saturday, an election petition tribunal in the capital, Abuja, ruled that Aisha Alhassan, who hails from the APC, was the rightful winner of the April 11 polls, invalidating the victory of Darius Ishaku of the main opposition party, PDP.

The court declared Alhassan, who is a Muslim and the only female candidate for governor across Nigeria’s 36 states, as the winner of the election after ruling that the opposition party had failed to follow the proper procedure in nominating Ishaku.


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