Reward for Nigeria killing

Reward for Nigeria killing

Some fear violent elections

A reward of nearly $80,000 has been offered by Nigerian police for information leading to the capture of the killers of a senior opposition leader.

Harry Marshall was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his home on Wednesday morning in the capital, Abuja.

His death is dominating the country's newspapers which suggest it bears all the hallmarks of a political assassination.

Speaking at a rally in the northern city of Kano, President Olusegun Obasanjo held a minute's silence for his former ally and urged supporters to rid the election campaign of the spectre of violence.

He paid tribute to his murdered opponent as "our friend and until recently a staunch member of our party".

But, flanked by a heavier than usual security presence, he also warned opposition politicians: "No death should be politicised."

On Wednesday, Mr Marshall's All Nigeria People's Party said it held President Obasanjo and the ruling party responsible for the death

The US State Department urged Nigerian political leaders "to take all possible measures to ensure a peaceful, stable environment in the run-up to critical national elections".

Reaction

The BBC's Dan Isaacs in Lagos says that if this does indeed prove to be a political killing, it will be by far the most serious incident in the run up to April's national elections.

Dozens of people have died in political violence in recent months.

"If the situation continues we shall have no choice but to call upon Nigerians to defend themselves," said ANPP chairman Don Etiebet, sitting next to the party's presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari at an Abuja news conference.

He was shot dead this morning, obviously by our opponents

Sam Nda-Isaiah, ANPP

Mr Marshall was a senior figure in the ANPP, which is expected to pose the greatest challenge to President Olusegun Obasanjo's re-election campaign.

Venatious Ikem, spokesman for the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), said his party condemned the killing and had persistently urged Nigerians to conduct peaceful elections.

Stockpiling weapons

Mr Marshall left the PDP last year.

He was from the oil-producing Rivers State, where he had been organising Mr Buhari's first campaign rally, due on Saturday.

People are in a state of shock

Ledum Mitee, Mosop

Earlier this week, details appeared in a national newspaper of a letter sent by Mr Marshall to the police, accusing senior PDP politicians in the state of masterminding the arrest and intimidation of ANPP supporters.

He also claimed opponents of his party were stockpiling arms and training thugs ahead of the elections.

The news sent a shockwave through Mr Marshall's home town of Port Harcourt.

"People are in a state of shock. People are standing in groups talking, trying to find out if it's true and hoping it's not true," said Ledum Mitee from the Mosop group which campaigns on behalf the ethnic Ogoni group.

President Obasanjo has ordered an urgent investigation into the killing and is organising a summit of all political heavyweights this month to find ways to stamp out violence.

Observers fear that the elections could worsen existing religious and ethnic tensions in Africa's most populous state.

Many thousands of people have been killed in communal clashes since the return of civilian rule in 1999.