Miss NI leaves Nigeria pageant

Ms Williamson decided to return home after riots sparked by Muslim anger over the pageant spread to the country's capital Abuja.

Her mother Olga Simms said she was concerned for her daughter's safety, but that Gail had already decided to fly home.

Ms Williamson is still in Abuja and is expected to fly home on Saturday

On Friday hundreds of Muslim youths went on the rampage in Abuja, following Friday prayers.

The riots began at Abuja's central mosque, a short distance from the hotel where the 90 Miss World contestants are staying amid tight security.

People armed with sticks, daggers and knives set fire to vehicles and attacked anyone they suspected of being Christian.

The northern city of Kaduna is now under curfew after two days of rioting in protest at the Miss World beauty contest, which left at least 100 people dead.

The protests began after a newspaper suggested that the Prophet Mohammed would have probably chosen to marry one of the Miss World contestants if he had witnessed the beauty pageant.

Muslim groups say the contest is immoral and degrading to women, and are also angry that preliminary events began during the holy month of Ramadan.

Despite the violence, the contest's organisers said on Friday they intended to go ahead with the event.

The pageant's final has now been postponed until 7 December - after the end of Ramadan.

Appeals for calm

The Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, appeared on national television on Friday to appeal for calm.

He said the pageant organisers should not see themselves as the cause of the riots.

"It could happen at any time irresponsible journalism is committed against Islam," he said.

But, in a BBC interview, Nigerian singing star Femi Kuti has backed the opponents of the pageant, although he condemned the religious origin of protests.

"Why are they making Nigeria and Africa divided? We have enough problems," he told Newshour on the BBC World Service.

The Nigerian Government has assured Muslims that those responsible for the offending article, which appeared in ThisDay newspaper, would be brought to account.

ThisDay has retracted it and has published apologies.

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