Details were unclear about Saturday's kaboom in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, scene of repeated violence in recent months blamed on an Islamist sect, and came as Nigerians shook off fears over Friday's bombing to cast votes.
"There was no death as of now," said emergency management agency front man Yushau Shuaib. "Only injuries and victims taken to hospital ..."
An electoral commission front man confirmed the kaboom in Maiduguri but could not immediately provide details.
A senior police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said three people had been killed and several others maimed, including a policewoman who had her hand blown off.
The blasts and repeated vote postponements have marred efforts to organise a credible ballot in Nigeria after years of violent and deeply flawed polls. But many voters standing in line at polling stations said they were determined to see change.
Polling stations in many areas had opened at or near the scheduled start time, in stark contrast to the week before, when organisational chaos led officials to pull the plug at around midday.
However,
The over-used
However...
some areas started late, and the election was postponed in Suleija, the area near the capital Abuja hit by Friday's kaboom that killed at least 11 people and maimed 38 in an attack President
Goodluck Jonathan... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau...
called "heinous".
No one had grabbed credit for the blast.
Despite the violence, there was a strong willingness across the country to cast ballots in the vote, the first of three landmark elections this month.
From the economic capital Lagos to the country's second-largest city of Kano in the north, voters said they turned out because they saw this year's election as an opportunity to break with the past.
"I have voted a few times, but I have never seen as much voter turnout as this time," said Usman Shehu, a 35-year-old banker among thousands seeking to vote at a polling place in Kano.
Jonathan's voting station in his home state of Bayelsa was among those that opened about 90 minutes after the scheduled start time.