Live updates: Nigeria Decides
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Key Points
Polling stations have opened across Nigeria for the fifth election since military rule ended in 1999
The presidential election is set to be a closely fought contest between two contenders
Incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, PDP party, a Christian southerner, is making his second-term bid
Muhammadu Buhari, APC party, a Muslim northerner, is making his fourth presidential bid
Voters must have a permanent voter card to be able to vote
Live Reporting
The BBC's Nkem Ifejika tweets from Nyanya on the outskirts of Abuja: "Great place to hold an election, palm trees, hills, and a chief's palace."
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Live: Nigeria votes
This page automatically updates
Key Points
Millions of Nigerians voting in closely fought poll
President Goodluck Jonathan faces Gen Muhammadu Buhari
Jonathan is Christian southerner, Buhari a Muslim northerner
Some teething problems with biometric voter
Asari's card rejected
Ex-oil militant Mujahid Dokubo-Asari's voter card is rejected by the electronic card reader at his polling station in Rivers State, Nigeria's private Daily Trust newspaper reports.
Atiku accredited
Here's a photo of Nigeria's former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar being accredited in Jimeta town in north-eastern Yola state, which has been badly affected by Boko Haram's insurgency.
Picasa
Smooth operation
Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar
BBC Africa
General Buhari and his wife were met by a huge crowd, scrambling to witness them being accredited in Daura. The process was fast and smooth - in less than five minutes he was out. He is due to return at 13:00 local time (12:00 GMT) to cast his vote. Long queues of people remain at this polling centre, which is right opposite General Buhari's family home.
AP
Homeless queues
AFP
Voters from a camp for people made homeless by militant Islamist group Boko Haram's insurgency queue to be accredited in the northern-eastern city of Maiduguri.
Kelvin Brown
BBC News
tweets: "Just spoke to some foreign observers. They say so far the accreditation process is going fairly smoothly in #Daura. #NigeriaDecides"
President Jonathan 'sweats'
After struggling to be accredited at his polling station the first time round, President Jonathan joked: "Maybe it's me?" He added: "If I can endure, you see my sweat?
He called for patience and said he was not worried about technical glitches. "It's the first time we are using this technology, PVCs (permanent voters card), card readers," the AFP news agency quotes the president as saying.
BBC
The BBC's Kelvin Brown in Daura in northern Katsina state says men and women have to form separate queues to be accredited for voting.
Observers chased away
All observers are being chased away by agents of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) from a polling station in southern Akwa Ibom state, says Lazarus Apir, the spokesman of the Transitional Monitoring Group, the largest observer group in Nigeria.
Similar incidents are being reported in two other southern states: Youths chased away observers in Delta and observers were threatened by a PDP member in Cross Rivers, he told the BBC.
President manually registered
Posted at
10:15
Initial reports that the president had registered were incorrect - he left and came back to the polling station at his home village in Otuoke, reports the BBC's Louise Adamou.
But the card reader has again failed to electronically register him and he has now been manually accredited as a voter, she says.
Long queues
Here are some photos of election officials and voters from the president's home village, Otuoke - courtesy of BBC Focus on Africa presenter Peter Okwoche.
BBC
BBC
Nasidi Adamu Yahya
BBC Hausa
tweets: "Abuja is so empty today that 'only' these cows and I have the roads. The cows were walking majestically. #Nigeria"
BBC
Listen to a report from the BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar in Daura town about accreditation of the APC's presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari.
BBC
Patience required
Will Ross
BBC Nigeria correspondent
Just over two hours after polling stations were meant to open in Nigeria's presidential and parliamentary election, some delays are being reported. At the polling station where I am outside Abuja, men and women are in separate queues.
When they get to the front of the queue there are some problems with the card readers recognising thumb prints. The president in the south also had problems, taking about 30 minutes to register.
There are some other logistical challenges, but they are not insurmountable - the big issue is patience, because the process is very slow and it looks like voters are going to be here all day.
Posted at
09:22
The BBC's Jonathan Chapman in the capital, Abuja, says that the blast at a polling station in Enugu state is reported to have been a controlled explosion of a car bomb that had been discovered.
An elderly woman arrives in Daura, the home town of Gen Buhari, to validate her voting card using a fingerprint reader, prior to casting her ballot later in the day.
AP
Ibrahim Shehu-Adamu
BBC Africa
Accreditation has finally commenced at the GSS Tudun Wada polling station in Abuja, almost two hours after polls officially opened.
BBC
Charlotte Attwood
BBC Africa
Posted at
09:11
Gen Buhari has been accredited in Daura town, and told journalists. "I like the integrity of the system... If people are allowed to vote then rigging will be virtually impossible under the system."
BBC
Bomb blast reports
Posted at
09:08
Nigeria's privately owned Channels Television is reporting that there there has been a bomb blast at a polling station in Enugu state, in south-eastern Nigeria
President Jonathan has been accredited, his special adviser says.
Salim Kikeke
BBC Africa
BBC
The voters card reader seems not to work as President Goodluck Jonathan waits patiently at the polling station in Otuoke.
Ibrahim Shehu-Adamu
BBC Africa
Posted at
08:48
Accreditation yet to commence at Abuja's GSS Tudun Wada polling station. Voters are getting agitated.
BBC
Posted at
08:47
The BBC's Louise Adamou reports from Otuoke that the president is flanked by his wife, Patience Jonathan. There is a huge media scrum at the polling station, she adds.
Posted at
08:42
President Jonathan has been trying but failing to register for the past 20 minutes, the BBC team in his home village of Otuoke reports.
Peter Okwoche
BBC News
tweets: "Pres Jonathan still waiting to be verified as card reader seems to be malfunctioning #nigeriadecides2015 @BBCAfrica"
Ibrahim Shehu-Adamu
BBC Africa
Posted at
08:14
Accreditation about to begin at GSS Tudun Wanda in Abuja. The earlier confusion about status of polling unit has been sorted.
Guard dogs
EPA
Police stand guard with dogs at a polling station in Port Harcourt city in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
Five days of training
BBC
This electoral official at Karu village junction in Nyanya, outside Abuja. Joseph says he is confident about using his card reader after his five days of training, reports the BBC's Becky Lipscombe
Posted at
08:03
"Polling stations have opened. Accreditation has started," election commission spokesman Kayode Idowu has told AFP news agency, despite reports of delays to the start.
Ibrahim Shehu-Adamu
BBC Africa
Posted at
07:55
Voters getting restless at a polling station in central Abuja. They insist they have voted here in previous polls but electoral officials say there has been a change and they might be moved elsewhere, not sure where.
BBC
Millions queuing
Millions of people have queued at polling stations to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections, reports the BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi from the capital, Abuja.
Preliminary reports from across Nigeria indicate that voter accreditation is moving smoothly at some polling stations, but at others voting material has not yet arrived, he says.
Buhari arrives
Posted at
07:44
BBC
Gen Buhari has just arrived and is being credited.
Posted at
07:41
Some polling stations have opened across Nigeria - people will first queue to register and vote later in the day. This has been done to prevent fraud in the elections.
BBC
Posted at
07:36
The postponed elections in Jigawa will now take place on 11 April, a security source has told the BBC.
Words of wisdom
BBC
Voters outside a polling station in Nyanya, near the capital Abuja - where some advice has been chalked up for voters.
Andrew Harding
BBC News Africa correspondent
tweets: Am at one Abuja polling station where election team and equipment yet to arrive. #Nigeriadecides
The Independent National Electoral Commission
tweets: We will be tweeting with and monitoring the hashtag #NigeriaDecides, please include it in your tweets and we will track your reports!
Accreditation
Posted at
7:20
They have started the registration process in Daura in Katsina. Here's a photo of the first voter to go through the process.
BBC
Peter Okwoche
BBC News
Here's a photo of the main road in the president's village venue.
BBC
from the president's home village.
BBC
Tight security
BBC
Security has been tightened at polling stations across Nigeria to prevent attacks by militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which views democracy as un-Islamic. Here security officers are on patrol in Daura, Katsina state.
Yusuf Yakasai
BBC Africa, Kano
Posted at
07:05
BBC
BBC
Hundreds of people are queuing in northern Kano city ahead of the polls opening when voters will have to first be accredited. Electoral materials have also arrived at a central polling centre before their distribution to polling stations.
The elections are being monitored by a large number of foreign observers, including those from the United Nations and African Union, to ensure a free and fair contest.
Posted at
06:57
BBC
The BBC's Akwasi Sarpong, reporting for the BBC's Focus on Africa radio from the capital, Abuja, says that an hour before accreditation was to begin there was no sign of election officials at a polling station in the centre of the city, but voters had begun to arrive.
President Jonathan will vote in his home village of Utuoke in southern Bayelsa state, where he flew in on Friday night after weeks of hectic campaigning.
Elections for the House of Representatives have been postponed in northern Jigawa state because of a lack of voting material, a security source has told the BBC.
Some 68.8 million people have registered to vote in of Africa's most populous state.
Posted at
06:49
BBC
A BBC team is in Daura, in the northern state of Katina, where Gen Buhari will cast his vote. Here, some residents of Daura wait patiently outside a station ahead of polls opening at 08:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
Posted at
06:41
It promises to be a closely fought race for the presidency with incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian southerner, facing a tough challenge from Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim northerner.
Courtsy BBC. Com
Key Points
Polling stations have opened across Nigeria for the fifth election since military rule ended in 1999
The presidential election is set to be a closely fought contest between two contenders
Incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, PDP party, a Christian southerner, is making his second-term bid
Muhammadu Buhari, APC party, a Muslim northerner, is making his fourth presidential bid
Voters must have a permanent voter card to be able to vote
Live Reporting
The BBC's Nkem Ifejika tweets from Nyanya on the outskirts of Abuja: "Great place to hold an election, palm trees, hills, and a chief's palace."
Attention:
Hide Message
Live: Nigeria votes
This page automatically updates
Key Points
Millions of Nigerians voting in closely fought poll
President Goodluck Jonathan faces Gen Muhammadu Buhari
Jonathan is Christian southerner, Buhari a Muslim northerner
Some teething problems with biometric voter
Asari's card rejected
Ex-oil militant Mujahid Dokubo-Asari's voter card is rejected by the electronic card reader at his polling station in Rivers State, Nigeria's private Daily Trust newspaper reports.
Atiku accredited
Here's a photo of Nigeria's former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar being accredited in Jimeta town in north-eastern Yola state, which has been badly affected by Boko Haram's insurgency.
PicasaSmooth operation
Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar
BBC Africa
General Buhari and his wife were met by a huge crowd, scrambling to witness them being accredited in Daura. The process was fast and smooth - in less than five minutes he was out. He is due to return at 13:00 local time (12:00 GMT) to cast his vote. Long queues of people remain at this polling centre, which is right opposite General Buhari's family home.
APHomeless queues
AFPVoters from a camp for people made homeless by militant Islamist group Boko Haram's insurgency queue to be accredited in the northern-eastern city of Maiduguri.
Kelvin Brown
BBC News
tweets: "Just spoke to some foreign observers. They say so far the accreditation process is going fairly smoothly in #Daura. #NigeriaDecides"
President Jonathan 'sweats'
After struggling to be accredited at his polling station the first time round, President Jonathan joked: "Maybe it's me?" He added: "If I can endure, you see my sweat?
He called for patience and said he was not worried about technical glitches. "It's the first time we are using this technology, PVCs (permanent voters card), card readers," the AFP news agency quotes the president as saying.
BBCThe BBC's Kelvin Brown in Daura in northern Katsina state says men and women have to form separate queues to be accredited for voting.
Observers chased away
All observers are being chased away by agents of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) from a polling station in southern Akwa Ibom state, says Lazarus Apir, the spokesman of the Transitional Monitoring Group, the largest observer group in Nigeria.
Similar incidents are being reported in two other southern states: Youths chased away observers in Delta and observers were threatened by a PDP member in Cross Rivers, he told the BBC.
President manually registered
Posted at
10:15
Initial reports that the president had registered were incorrect - he left and came back to the polling station at his home village in Otuoke, reports the BBC's Louise Adamou.
But the card reader has again failed to electronically register him and he has now been manually accredited as a voter, she says.
Long queues
Here are some photos of election officials and voters from the president's home village, Otuoke - courtesy of BBC Focus on Africa presenter Peter Okwoche.
BBCBBCNasidi Adamu Yahya
BBC Hausa
tweets: "Abuja is so empty today that 'only' these cows and I have the roads. The cows were walking majestically. #Nigeria"
BBCListen to a report from the BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar in Daura town about accreditation of the APC's presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari.
BBCPatience required
Will Ross
BBC Nigeria correspondent
Just over two hours after polling stations were meant to open in Nigeria's presidential and parliamentary election, some delays are being reported. At the polling station where I am outside Abuja, men and women are in separate queues.
When they get to the front of the queue there are some problems with the card readers recognising thumb prints. The president in the south also had problems, taking about 30 minutes to register.
There are some other logistical challenges, but they are not insurmountable - the big issue is patience, because the process is very slow and it looks like voters are going to be here all day.
Posted at
09:22
The BBC's Jonathan Chapman in the capital, Abuja, says that the blast at a polling station in Enugu state is reported to have been a controlled explosion of a car bomb that had been discovered.
An elderly woman arrives in Daura, the home town of Gen Buhari, to validate her voting card using a fingerprint reader, prior to casting her ballot later in the day.
APIbrahim Shehu-Adamu
BBC Africa
Accreditation has finally commenced at the GSS Tudun Wada polling station in Abuja, almost two hours after polls officially opened.
BBCCharlotte Attwood
BBC Africa
Posted at
09:11
Gen Buhari has been accredited in Daura town, and told journalists. "I like the integrity of the system... If people are allowed to vote then rigging will be virtually impossible under the system."
BBCBomb blast reports
Posted at
09:08
Nigeria's privately owned Channels Television is reporting that there there has been a bomb blast at a polling station in Enugu state, in south-eastern Nigeria
President Jonathan has been accredited, his special adviser says.
Salim Kikeke
BBC Africa
BBCThe voters card reader seems not to work as President Goodluck Jonathan waits patiently at the polling station in Otuoke.
Ibrahim Shehu-Adamu
BBC Africa
Posted at
08:48
Accreditation yet to commence at Abuja's GSS Tudun Wada polling station. Voters are getting agitated.
BBCPosted at
08:47
The BBC's Louise Adamou reports from Otuoke that the president is flanked by his wife, Patience Jonathan. There is a huge media scrum at the polling station, she adds.
Posted at
08:42
President Jonathan has been trying but failing to register for the past 20 minutes, the BBC team in his home village of Otuoke reports.
Peter Okwoche
BBC News
tweets: "Pres Jonathan still waiting to be verified as card reader seems to be malfunctioning #nigeriadecides2015 @BBCAfrica"
Ibrahim Shehu-Adamu
BBC Africa
Posted at
08:14
Accreditation about to begin at GSS Tudun Wanda in Abuja. The earlier confusion about status of polling unit has been sorted.
Guard dogs
EPAPolice stand guard with dogs at a polling station in Port Harcourt city in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
Five days of training
BBCThis electoral official at Karu village junction in Nyanya, outside Abuja. Joseph says he is confident about using his card reader after his five days of training, reports the BBC's Becky Lipscombe
Posted at
08:03
"Polling stations have opened. Accreditation has started," election commission spokesman Kayode Idowu has told AFP news agency, despite reports of delays to the start.
Ibrahim Shehu-Adamu
BBC Africa
Posted at
07:55
Voters getting restless at a polling station in central Abuja. They insist they have voted here in previous polls but electoral officials say there has been a change and they might be moved elsewhere, not sure where.
BBCMillions queuing
Millions of people have queued at polling stations to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections, reports the BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi from the capital, Abuja.
Preliminary reports from across Nigeria indicate that voter accreditation is moving smoothly at some polling stations, but at others voting material has not yet arrived, he says.
Buhari arrives
Posted at
07:44
BBCGen Buhari has just arrived and is being credited.
Posted at
07:41
Some polling stations have opened across Nigeria - people will first queue to register and vote later in the day. This has been done to prevent fraud in the elections.
BBCPosted at
07:36
The postponed elections in Jigawa will now take place on 11 April, a security source has told the BBC.
Words of wisdom
BBCVoters outside a polling station in Nyanya, near the capital Abuja - where some advice has been chalked up for voters.
Andrew Harding
BBC News Africa correspondent
tweets: Am at one Abuja polling station where election team and equipment yet to arrive. #Nigeriadecides
The Independent National Electoral Commission
tweets: We will be tweeting with and monitoring the hashtag #NigeriaDecides, please include it in your tweets and we will track your reports!
Accreditation
Posted at
7:20
They have started the registration process in Daura in Katsina. Here's a photo of the first voter to go through the process.
BBCPeter Okwoche
BBC News
Here's a photo of the main road in the president's village venue.
BBCfrom the president's home village.
BBCTight security
BBCSecurity has been tightened at polling stations across Nigeria to prevent attacks by militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which views democracy as un-Islamic. Here security officers are on patrol in Daura, Katsina state.
Yusuf Yakasai
BBC Africa, Kano
Posted at
07:05
BBC
BBCHundreds of people are queuing in northern Kano city ahead of the polls opening when voters will have to first be accredited. Electoral materials have also arrived at a central polling centre before their distribution to polling stations.
The elections are being monitored by a large number of foreign observers, including those from the United Nations and African Union, to ensure a free and fair contest.
Posted at
06:57
BBCThe BBC's Akwasi Sarpong, reporting for the BBC's Focus on Africa radio from the capital, Abuja, says that an hour before accreditation was to begin there was no sign of election officials at a polling station in the centre of the city, but voters had begun to arrive.
President Jonathan will vote in his home village of Utuoke in southern Bayelsa state, where he flew in on Friday night after weeks of hectic campaigning.
Elections for the House of Representatives have been postponed in northern Jigawa state because of a lack of voting material, a security source has told the BBC.
Some 68.8 million people have registered to vote in of Africa's most populous state.
Posted at
06:49
BBCA BBC team is in Daura, in the northern state of Katina, where Gen Buhari will cast his vote. Here, some residents of Daura wait patiently outside a station ahead of polls opening at 08:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
Posted at
06:41
It promises to be a closely fought race for the presidency with incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian southerner, facing a tough challenge from Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim northerner.
Courtsy BBC. Com
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