ABUJA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Multiple explosions were heard on early morning of Saturday in Nigeria's northeast city of Maiduguri, hours before the beginning of presidential and parliamentary elections in the West African country.
The explosions occurred at around 6:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) in Maiduguri, the largest city of Borno State. It is also the birthplace of the jihadist militant group Boko Haram.
In a statement, the Nigerian army said that the multiple sounds of controlled-gun fire were for "security calculations" and not targeted at the public.
The army statement denied reports that Boko Haram attacked Maiduguri or its neighboring communities.
"As of now Borno, especially Maiduguri township is calm and peaceful. People have already started voting in many locations across the state," the army confirmed.
Nigerians began to cast their ballots at 8:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) at about 120,000 polling stations across the country. The elections have been delayed for one week as the scheduled proceeding of the vote was not feasible.
Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari who seeks for a second term voted in his hometown of Daura in northern Nigeria.
