Gunman shot and killed two family members of a newly appointed state official in the southern Nigerian city of Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa reports from Abuja.
 

Militants wearing black masks, military fatigues and carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers patrol the creeks of the Niger Delta area of Nigeria (File)

Analysts say the violence has been exacerbated by the use of local gangs used to intimidate political opponents.

Port Harcourt is the main city in the oil-rich delta region.  Political violence has increased since the run-up to countrywide elections in April, which were widely condemned as rigged. Some candidates were murdered during the campaign, while others reported dynamite attacks on their houses and kidnappings of family members.
 
But, the police chief says recent public outcry regarding the violence by some of the region's gang leaders has eased tensions in the state.
 
"Some of the militants have come to realize that the militancy will have to stop," he added.  "One of the leaders in Okrika, Tom Ateke, called his people together and they renounced all the rubbish they have been doing all these while. They want to stop killings; they want to stop hostage takings and all of that. So I think they are now prepared to give peace a chance."

Watchdog group Transparency International rates Nigeria as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Most citizens struggle to get by on less than $2 a day in a country where unemployment is high and arms are freely available.