Thousands of people gathered in heavily guarded squares and stadiums in Nigeria's main cities on Tuesday to protest last month's flawed presidential election, which gave the ruling party a crushing victory.
Civil society groups had feared a security crackdown ahead of the rally in the capital Abuja called by powerful trade unions and main opposition parties after the electoral body declared Umaru Yar'Adua of the People's Democratic Party the winner of an April 21 presidential election.
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Monitors said the vote was rigged. Yar'Adua says he won the election fair and square.
Armored Personnel Carriers were stationed at the venue while troops patrolled the city. Security forces searched people and seized political placards before letting them through the gate. One placard read: "This election was a fraud, cancel it."
"Today is not for protest. We will not allow political placards, political rally, nor political statement," Lawrence Alobi, police commissioner for Abuja said.
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The Inspector General of Police Sunday Ehindero said while May Day rallies would be allowed at designated grounds, anyone marching without a permit would be dispersed with teargas.
Despite the heavy security presence, more than 5,000 people gathered in Abuja to denounce the election as a fraud and just under that number mounted a similar demonstration in Lagos.
Any government based on the outcome of the elections "will be politically and morally disabled," said Abdulwaheed Omar, president of the influential Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC), at the May Day rally.
"Obviously our dear country is in a political logjam. That is why the NLC is making broad nationwide consultation with broad-based interest groups to fashion a way out of this crisis," Omar said.
FEAR OF CRACKDOWN
Former military strongman Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of the main opposition All Nigeria People's Party and Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress party did not attend the rally.
Opposition leaders were reluctant to call for mass protests because they fear the demonstrations could be taken over by violent or criminal elements and lead to a security crackdown.
Mabel Adinga Ade, head of the biggest local election observer group said secret police arrested at least one campaigner at the Abuja rally, while others received anonymous threats ahead of the event.
The group, which receives funding from the United Nations Development Program, the European Union, Canada and Britain, had complained of intimidation from the secret police and the electoral agency before the elections.
The secretive State Security Service answers to the National Security Advisers which, in turn, is under orders from President Olusegun Obasanjo.
International monitors and local observers have denounced the presidential vote and state polls on April 14 as a failure, but the government said the criticism was intended to make way for a coup.
Obasanjo has told aggrieved parties to seek redress through the courts before he hands over power on May 29 in the first transition from one civilian leader to another in Africa's most populous nation.
The Program of non-violent protests started with prayer sessions on Friday.
(Additional reporting Tume Ahemba)
------------ AND YET BBC REPORTS.....
Nigerian election protest flops The massive protests planned by the opposition over Nigeria's disputed elections have failed to materialise. They had hoped to use the trade unions' May Day rallies to denounce what they see as election fraud but the rallies went ahead as usual.
The police deployed across the country warning that unauthorised demostrations would be forcibly broken up.
A BBC correspondent in Lagos says few people seem willing to put their lives on the line for elitist politicians.
"We don't want to use today to state any sort of grievances by anybody," one union official said.
"That would then turn into people being molested, or all sorts - yes we may have our reservations about the elections or whatever, but today's our happy day and we don't want it to be jeopardised."
People were forced to thumb-print in front of the PDP agents and then they took the ballot and put it in the ballot boxEmma Ezeazu
Election observer
Local election observers have condemned the presidential, legislative and state polls as a "charade", with results declared in areas where no voting took place.
The ruling People's Democratic Party's Umaru Yar'Adua was declared the winner of the 21 April presidential election, with 70% of votes cast.
The BBC's Alex Last says the fact that the unions were rather reluctant to have their events used for political means highlights the lack of unity amongst those who have condemned the election.
As the elections slowly move into the distance and millions of Nigerians contend with their daily struggle for survival, it will only get harder to build the momentum to force a change, he says.
Police crackdown
Security was tight at the Lagos rally - busloads of police were outside the stadium, inside union officials were in control.
"I think people seem to be cowed by the intimidation of the security agencies, because we witness that here a lot," an activist said.
Police chief Sunday Ehindero said May Day rallies were allowed at designated grounds, but police would crack down on those marching without a permit."Any procession that takes place without a police permit will be dispersed forcefully, it will be tear-gassed and if greater force is required, we will use it," he warned.
On Monday, top election observer Emma Ezeazu was arrested by state security officials, who accuse him of inciting violence.
The agents from the State Security Service (SSS) raided the Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE) office and confiscated placards being readied for the protests, ACE says.
"They said they didn't need a warrant to arrest him," ACE spokesman Odoh Okenyodo told the BBC's News website.
"They said they caught us in the act of producing placards for tomorrow's mass protests.
"But this will not break our will. International and local observers all agree that the recent general elections in Nigeria were terribly rigged.
"We were only preparing those placards to join in the peaceful protests called tomorrow by the central labour union" he says.
Fears
Mr Ezeazu witnessed several irregularities during the polls.
"People were forced to thumb-print in front of the PDP agents and then they took the ballot and put it in the ballot box," he told the BBC.
Some 200 people were killed in election violence, according to European Union observers.
Our correspondent says the opposition has been reluctant to call for street protests because it fears they could spiral out of control.
Opposition parties have called for the annulment of the elections.
But the government has rejected criticism of the elections, saying it was intended to cause a coup.
President Olusegun Obasanjo is due to hand over power on 29 May, in what should be the first transition from one civilian leader to another in Africa's most populous nation.
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