Nigerian incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan cast his ballot in Otuoke, Nigeria, Saturday, April 16. / AP Photo/Godwin Omoigui

ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan took a nearly insurmountable lead Sunday in the election to lead the oil-rich nation, though fragmented returns suggested the Christian incumbent faced strong opposition from the country’s Muslim north. Meanwhile, authorities in the vice president’s northern Nigerian hometown said that eight people had been wounded in a bomb blast at a hotel in a poor neighborhood hours after voters cast their ballots in the otherwise peaceful election.