TW Newsdesk, March 19:Nigeria’s election officials counted ballots after polls closed in a delayed vote to pick new state governors, amid reports of scattered violence and voter intimidation, including in Lagos, where a tight race was expected. Elections started closing from 1330 GMT and counting immediately followed, but time was extended where voting started late.

In southeastern Imo state, a hotbed of separatist violence, security troops rescued 19 electoral officials who had been abducted by thugs, but polls materials were lost, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stated.