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ahead next week despite rioting which has killed at least 120 people across the mostly Muslim north.
Angry youths launched violent protests in northern cities this week after Jonathan, a Christian from the south, was declared the victor of a weekend election, defeating former military ruler and northern Muslim Muhammadu Buhari.
Churches, mosques and homes were set ablaze in the worst unrest for years as Buhari supporters rejected the outcome.
“These acts of mayhem are sad reminders of the events which plunged our country into 30 months of an unfortunate civil war,” Jonathan said, referring to killings that led to a conflict in which one million people were killed in the 1960s.
Shehu Sani, president of Nigeria’s Civil Rights Congress, said he believed as many as 260 people had been killed across the north, with the heaviest toll in the city of Kaduna.
A tally of figures from Red Cross officials, health workers and Reuters witnesses who visited morgues said the toll was at least 120.
Africa’s most populous nation is due to hold governorship and state assembly votes in most of its 36 states on Tuesday, but there are fears many voters will not turn out after the unrest.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said yesterday it would delay the governorship election by two days in the northern states of Kaduna and Bauchi, two of the worst hit by violence, to give security staff more time to create a stable voting environment. – Reuters.