Pageant moves to London

The Miss World Organisation and Silver Bird Productions Ltd announced they were moving the contest from Nigeria to London after rampaging mo...

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The Miss World Organisation and Silver Bird Productions Ltd announced they were moving the contest from Nigeria to London after rampaging mobs torched cars and attacked passersby in a third day of violence that left more than 100 dead.

Organisers said the pageant would be held December 7, as planned, but would be moved to London ‘‘in the overall interests of Nigeria and the contestants.’’ The statement made no specific reference to the riots ignited by an article in the independent Lagos-based newspaper This Day.

In the November 16 issue of the Lagos-based national daily, reporter Isioma Daniel wrote that anti-pageant Muslims were over-reacting: ‘‘What would Muhammad think? In all honesty, he would probably have chosen a wife from one of them.’’

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A state security official told reporters on Thursday that Simon Kolawole, editor of the Saturday edition of This Day, and Daniel had been arrested. For four straight days, This Day carried front-page apologies for the offending article.

But several churches and mosques lay charred as rival gangs of Muslims and Christians armed with anything available — rocks, machetes and axes — battled each other. A 24-hour curfew had not quelled the violence, and many Kaduna residents sought refuge at police stations and military bases.

The violence in Abuja, 225 miles to the south, followed Friday Muslim prayers when scores of youths fanned through the city streets, stoning and setting cars afire and beating people they believed were Christians.

The contestants appeared early Friday to be unaware that the conflict had moved close enough to see from their hotel windows. ‘‘The Miss World organisation and the Nigerian government have gone to great lengths to secure our safety,’’ Miss Australia, Nicole Gazal, 24, said in a statement .

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Miss World spokeswoman Stella Din told reporters, ‘‘We regret these incidents, but this is not the fault of Miss World. It is the result of irresponsible journalism.”

Shifting the pageant from Nigeria is a disaster for local organisers and a personal embarrassment to President Olusegun Obasanjo’s wife Stella, a co-sponsor through her Child Care Trust charity. Nigerians also fear it will hurt their country’s chances of hosting major international events. Nigeria is likely to bid for the 2010 soccer World Cup finals. (LATWP/Reuters)