Tight security as voters trickle out in north Nigeria

KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Voters trickled out to polling stations on Thursday in two states in northern Nigeria where rioting killed hundreds last week, under the watchful eye of policeman on horseback and soldiers manning barricades.

Most of Nigeria's 36 states held elections to vote for governors and state assembly members on Tuesday but the polls were delayed by two days in Kaduna and Bauchi in what the electoral commission said was a bid to allow "tempers to cool."

Angry youths launched violent protests in northern cities last week after President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the south, was declared winner of the presidential election, defeating ex-army ruler and northern Muslim Muhammadu Buhari.

Churches, mosques and homes were set ablaze in the worst unrest for years as Buhari supporters rejected the outcome. A civil rights group said more than 500 people were killed in the space of a few hours in three towns in southern Kaduna alone.

Soldiers laid out roadblocks of tyres in the state capital, Kalashnikovs hanging from their necks. Anti-bomb squad officers held barking dogs pulling on their leashes on street corners.

At the Kaduna polling unit where Vice President Namadi Sambo will vote, security agents outnumbered voters waiting to accredit as the polls opened.

"Last week this place was filled with people. Now you can see it is empty. People are intimidated by the huge military presence, many are frightened," said Habu Garba, a 28-year old unemployed graduate.

"I've seen people tearing up voter cards and telling people 'I will never vote again'. Kaduna has lost faith in democracy, Kaduna has lost faith in the process. It is sad," he said.

Members of Nigeria's youth corps, young graduates doing their national service, have been key to this year's elections, helping to run polling units and monitor vote counts.

But at least two were directly targeted and killed in last week's violence and many others were attacked, leading hundreds to withdraw from the process and leaving polling units at risk of being understaffed. Students have been brought in to help.

"There are no corpers so we have been called in," said Hussaini Mohammed, 22, one of four students at one polling unit.

"We have received some training, enough. We are not nervous because you can see the number of police here," he said.

The state governorship races are the last stage of an election process so far deemed by observers and many Nigerians to have been the fairest in decades, despite some of the country's worst political violence for years.

Ballot box snatching and thuggery marred state governorship elections in other parts of Nigeria on Tuesday, although there was little of the orchestrated mob violence which has undermined similar votes in the past.

Jonathan's ruling party has lost control of some states in the governorship elections, according to results declared so far, although it maintained its dominance in the country overall and performed strongly in some parts of the north.

(Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Giles Elgood)