Pre-election violence kills 9 in southern Nigeria

ABUJA, Jan 9 (Reuters) At least nine people were killed today in the Ogoni area of Nigeria's southern Niger Delta in two separate local conflicts fuelled by pre-election tensions, residents and human rights activists said.

A long-running land dispute between the villages of Biara and B-Dere escalated into a gunbattle when a militia sponsored by a politician from Biara got involved. Eight people including two militia members were shot dead, according to a local activist against small arms proliferation.

''Everybody in the community is indoors. The only thing you can hear is gunshots. There are bodies lying on the ground,'' said the activist, who did not wish to be named because he has contacts with some of the gunmen.

The militia involved in the fighting, known as the Gberesaakoo Boys, is one of many that sprung up ahead of Nigeria's last elections, in 2003. The use of paid thugs by politicians is a common problem in Nigeria, especially in the lawless, oil-producing Niger Delta.

These armed groups are being drafted back into action ahead of elections scheduled for April by politicians anxious to establish their control over their chosen areas.

In Bodo, another community in the Ogoni area, an old turf war between two local politicians flared and members of two gangs of paid thugs, Deewell and Deebam, fought in the streets with AK-47 rifles and dynamite, residents said.

''People cannot go to school, they cannot go to market. The thugs have been fighting all day with guns,'' said one resident, who did not wish to be named for fear of reprisals.

''The cause of this war is a rivalry between two political factions. They are looking to the 2007 elections and each one wants to chase the other one out,'' said the resident.

Africa's most populous country returned to democracy in 1999 after three decades of almost continuous army rule.

Politicians seeking to assert their supremacy often exploit religious or ethnic rivalries to foment violence. High unemployment leaves many youths available for recruitment as armed thugs.

Elections for state lawmakers and state governors take place on April 14. Elections for the president and for the national assembly are scheduled for April 21.

Reuters BDP GC2124