Attackers blow up country home of Nigeria's president elect

YENAGOA, Nigeria: Unknown attackers destroyed the country home of Nigeria's vice president-elect, Goodluck Jonathan, with dynamite on Wednesday and blew up a nearby police station, killing one officer, officials said.

The attacks came before dawn in oil-rich southern Bayelsa state, where Jonathan is currently governor, said the region's police chief, Julian Okpalake.

He said there were no immediate reports of casualties in the attack on Jonathan's home, which is not his primary residence.

Official results from Nigeria's April 21 presidential elections showed the ruling party candidates, Jonathan and President-elect Umaru Yar'Adua, the landslide winners.

But the opposition says the vote was rigged and international observers called the election deeply flawed, characterized by ballot-box stuffing and illegal acts by electoral officials.

In some regions, particularly in the oil-rich, southern Niger Delta region that includes Bayelsa state, the ruling party was announced the runaway winner in areas where no voting actually took place, observers say.

Militancy has flourished in recent years in the region, which remains deeply poor despite boasting virtually all of the oil reserves in Africa's biggest producer. Residents say government officials steal much of the oil funds.

A series of attacks on oil infrastructure and kidnappings of foreign workers has cut output by nearly one third, driving crude prices higher in overseas markets.

On Tuesday, Royal Duth Shell PLC announced that protesters had occupied an oil facility elsewhere in the southern region, causing oil production cuts of 170,000 barrels per day.

Occupying oil facilities is a common form of protest in the volatile Niger Delta region, which remains deeply impoverished despite producing tens of billions in oil revenues every year.

Since no foreign oil company is currently active in Ogoniland, the region has not seen the kidnappings and attacks on foreign workers that have plagued production in much of the rest of the Delta region.

Around 100 foreign workers have been kidnapped since the beginning of the year and last week the region's largest militant group bombed three pipelines leading to a major export terminal, helping send crude prices higher in world markets.

In an apparently unrelated incident on Tuesday, youths protesting an oil spill in a western area of the vast region occupied a separate oil installation. Chevron Corp. spokesman Femi Odumabo said that facility was capable of producing more than 6,000 barrels per day, but had already been shut down due to earlier unrest.

Nigeria is one of the world's top 10 exporters of crude and a key source of oil imports for the United States.

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Associated Press Writer Nathaniel Ibigor in Warri, Nigeria, contributed to this report.

Robot  Villager

# 1 YENAGOA, Nigeria: Unknown attackers destroyed the country home of Nigeria's vic...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 16.05.2007 07:30

Mikky jaga  Villager

# 2 Omehia's mother kidnapped! Attackers blow up Goodluck's home!! Something must be wrong somewhere. These are the very people that scored nearly 100% in Iwu's April Election. When shall we stop these imposition of candidates? Posted by Mikky jaga| 16.05.2007 09:29

TEchi  Villager

# 3 Are the chickens coming to roost now? OBJ and PDP better come up with better plans before the whole place go on fire. We know they can not rig the people's discontentment as they did the election. Posted by TEchi| 16.05.2007 09:43

akuluouno  Villager

# 4 I really pity GJ. He first narrowly escaped being kidnapped after the April 07 charade. Now his house has been blown up by dynamite. Not to worry, he wil fell safer at Akinola Aguda House in ABJcity wher no dynamite or militants can reach him. Heee, I truly love Nigeria I no go lie. :biggrin: Posted by akuluouno| 16.05.2007 09:50

SILOJE  Villager

# 5 Behold our son with whom we are well pleased. This is not a protest, mind you. We are merely celebrating landslide victory of our beloved son ( and his oga) at the polls. Verily, verily, I say, unto you, there is no peace for the wicked. I think the man should 'migrate' permanently to Abuja for now, and 'relocate' to Ota Farm after his term of office. If he gets to serve it, that is. Posted by SILOJE| 16.05.2007 09:59

Auspicious  Villager

# 6 These guys operate with impunity - and deservedly so too, as the Nigerian Government appear incompetent to live up to its business of providing security for her citizens, amongst their other galling show of incompetency (think elections '07). The incoming government better have serious plans of placating these guys when it resumes duties after May 29. There is nothing wrong with listening to them and reviewing their demands objectively - taking everything into consideration, including their rights to demand justice by all means possible. Auspicious. Posted by Auspicious| 16.05.2007 10:56

Kibe  Villager

# 7 Attackers blew up Goodluck Jonathan's home....I am not surprised! And strangely, I don't seem to pity him. Goodluck, Obj, Yar'Adua, Iwu, Ali, and PDP all remind me of the gang and cult of thieves that for the past 8 years, dispossessed all Nigerian people and in last April, openly and boldly raped the Nigerian masses in a 'pornographic style' daylight. This attack is only the beginning of things to come, a fruit of electoral legitimacy. Electoral legitimacy?! Posted by Kibe| 16.05.2007 11:48

Afeni  Villager

# 8 This must be the first time that people have violently resisted a regime that won 90% + in a democratic, free and fair election. The PDP is so popular in the South-South that voter turn out were 95%+ in virtually all States in the geo-political zone. As was the case in Rivers, voters chose the PDP by 1.2 millions to its nearest rival of 20,000. Clearly, Goodluck's house was not destroyed by militants. It was merely accidentally set on fire by celebrating Niger-Delta youths. The NASS should pass a bill banning fire works so the next time people show their support for the PDP, they do so in a manner that lives the residence of PDP "Big Riggs" standing. Posted by Afeni| 16.05.2007 12:06

Airblaze  Villager

# 9 if you blame the militants, then you are a greater fool, first when the white men were been kidnapped, you opened your dirtymouths to say that they should hold their leaders accountable and not the federal government nor the whites, now they are turning their searchlites to the criminals that pose as leaders and here most people will complain again. as a matter of fact, let them put a halt to all the so called-development, and let everyone come to the negotiationg table again. let out priorities be stated clearly with out distortions. its now that they know that they want to develop the areas, when the undevelopment there has groomed the boys to this present state. GBAM!!! the Evil that men do lives with them Posted by Airblaze| 16.05.2007 12:10

Afeni  Villager

# 10 The militants need to be more aggressive. All PDP men must be marked. Go after the Assembly men (State and National), the local Government heads, the commissioners e.t.c. Let those that steal the mandate of the PDP return it for fear of do or die. Posted by Afeni| 16.05.2007 12:18

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