Nigerian woman killed in election violence in Bayelsa State

A Nigerian woman has been killed in violence during polls to elect a new governor in the southern state of Bayelsa.

On Saturday, Bayelsa governor’s spokesman Daniel Iwariso-Markson said the woman had lost her life in a shooting incident in the town of Oporoma, located west of Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State.

"She was hit by bullets fired during the shooting," he said, without giving details.

Further details regarding the victim have not been released.

Officials said a number of other shootings also took place during the day.

Bayelsa governor Seriake Dickson said the attacks targeted his supporters.

"There was a premeditated attack on my supporters in Brass, Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw (municipalities) which left one dead," said Dickson, who is running against former governor Timipre Sylva.

The incident came despite the government’s deployment of some 14,000 police officers for the election.

Bayelsa’s incumbent governor is seeking another four-year term, while Sylva is seeking to return as governor once again, in a move which is seen by many as a victory for President Muhammadu Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) party.

Campaigners on both sides have been accusing each other of being responsible for the violence leading up to the vote.

Nigeria has also been gripped by Boko Haram violence. At least 17,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million made homeless since the Boko Haram militancy began in 2009, when the terror group started an armed rebellion against the government.

The terrorists have recently pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri militant group, which is primarily operating inside Syria and Iraq.

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