Police in southern Nigeria say gunmen have destroyed the country home of Vice President-elect Goodluck Jonathan.
The attack occurred before dawn Wednesday in Bayelsa state, where Jonathan is currently governor. Investigators say the attackers approached by speedboat and hurled dynamite at the house. Jonathan was not there at the time.
Assailants also destroyed a police station near Jonathan's home, killing at least one officer.
In another incident, police say militants kidnapped a child and at least three adults today in the city of Port Harcourt.
Oil-rich southern Nigeria has been plagued by violence and kidnappings, most of it targeting the oil industry. Some of the actions are carried out by criminal gangs, while others are the work of militants demanding more of the region's oil wealth be given to impoverished villages.
Officials today said that protesters who had occupied a major Royal Dutch Shell pipeline hub in the region since Thursday have abandoned it. The incident in the village of Ogoniland had forced Shell to reduce production by 170,000 barrels of oil per day.
Vice President-elect Jonathan was the running mate of ruling party candidate Umaru Yar'Adua during last month's election. International observers say the voting was marred by major irregularities. The new president and vice president take office on May 29.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
