LAGOS, Nigeria -- At least 49 people died in rioting following upset wins by President Shehu Shagari's supporters in gubernatorial elections in the western Nigerian states of Ondo and Oye.
Amid continuing protests, officials Thursday postponed federal senate elections in both states.
Witnesses, police and government reports put the number of dead in Oyo at 25 with another 24 fatalities in Ondo, where the violence this week was described as the most serious in the country.
Ondo Gov.-elect Akin Omoboriowo fled to Lagos as supporters of the Unity Party of Nigeria accused Shagari's National Party of Nigeria of wholesale ballot-rigging.
With strong tribal roots in the west, the Unity Party had been considered unbeatable in the two states and its supporters went on a rampage when national party candidates were declared new governors. Rioting broke out within hours but it took days for reliable reports to reach Lagos.
Federal election officials said voting for the federal senate was put off until Sept. 10 in Ondo and Oye. The rest of the nation votes Saturday.
Four prominent National Party members in Ondo were killed by anti-Shagari rioters, including Olaiya Fagbamigbe, a member of the federal house of representatives, and Awoleye Agunbiade, former majority leader in the state house of assembly. NPN official R.A. Agbayewa and his wife were beaten to death, police said.
Demonstrators torched the federal election commission office, destroying ballots and ballot boxes.
Civil servants fearing for their lives closed down government offices in the state capital of Akure Tuesday. Police said vigilante groups were searching for National Party members and the offices remained closed.
Angry crowds in Ile-Ife, in Oyo, late Wednesday burned down a police station, stormed the town prison and freed some 100 prisoners, police said.
In Ibadan, capital of Oyo, hospital sources said 10 people died in violent protests Tuesday.
In the north central state of Niger, Shagari supporters clashed with National People's Party supporters and witnesses said several homes were burned. Casualty figures were not immediatey available.
Final results showed Shagari's candidates won 13 of the 19 state governorships, eight more than in 1979. Shagari himself won a second four-year term by a landslide two weeks ago.
The president's personal victory was not challenged but his party's sweep of governorships was.
The National Party won the statehouses in Anambra, Oyo, Bendel, Borno, Niger, Benue, Cross River, Rivers, Sokoto, Gongola, Kaduna, Ondo and Bauchi.
The Unity Party held Lagos and Ogun and won Kwara from the NPN. The Nigerian People's Party held Plateau and Imo and the Nigerian People's Redemption Party took Kano from the People's Party.
After Saturday's senate elections there will be balloting for the house of representatives and finally for state assemblies. The election process takes almost one month.
