Nigeria protesters demand to see leader who has not appeared publicly since hospital release

Nigeria protesters demand to see ailing president

ABUJA, Nigeria — Hundreds of protesters in Nigeria’s capital are demanding to see the ailing president, who has not appeared publicly since returning from hospital treatment abroad last month.

Protesters thronged Abuja’s streets Wednesday with a letter demanding the appearance of President Umaru Yar’Adua, saying the country is in a leadership crisis. Protesters also demanded ministers be fired days after sectarian violence left more than 200 dead in central Nigeria.

Yar’Adua left for a Saudi Arabia hospital in November. Doctors say he has a serious heart condition. The government in February authorized Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to take over. But Yar’Adua’s party says the next presidential candidate must be from the Muslim north, ruling out the Christian Jonathan.