The first results are expected after Nigeria’s tightest election since the end of military rule in 1999.
However, after widespread delays and some attacks on polling stations on Saturday, voting in some parts of the country has been postponed until Sunday.
Voting continued throughout the night in other areas.
Turnout appears high, especially among young people who make up about a third of the 87 million eligible voters.
This makes it the largest democratic exercise in Africa.
The elections saw an unprecedented challenge to the two-party system that has dominated Nigeria for 24 years.
Peter Obi of the Labor Party, Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are all seen as potential winners. There are 15 other presidential candidates.
Saturday’s voting was marred by long delays at polling stations, as well as scattered reports of ballot box hijackings and attacks by gunmen, particularly in the southern regions, where Mr Obi’s support lies.
Dr. Nkeem Okoli was about to vote in Lekki district of Lagos, the largest city, when masked men attacked the polling station.
“There was chaos. There were bottles flying everywhere,” he told JEE News. “They broke [ballot boxes]. They stole officials’ phones. Now we can’t vote.”
In at least five states, voting did not begin until around 18:00 local time in some places – three and a half hours after polls closed.
One woman said on Twitter that she used her car’s headlights to illuminate the voting and counting process throughout the night.
Voting was delayed until Sunday in several parts of southern Bayelsa state.
Harrison-Rosaline said she waited five hours to vote Saturday but no election official came. But she’s back with her two-month-old baby, and is thrilled to have finally cast her vote.
“I was motivated because I want a better Nigeria. I want this country to be good for everyone, including my child,” she told JEE News.
There is tension in parts of Rivers and Lagos states, where some political parties have asked their members to go to centers where votes are being collected, to prevent manipulation.
There have also been complaints about the use of the recently introduced electronic voting system, with many voters accusing election officials of refusing to upload results to polling units as they believe they should. .
However, in areas where voting went smoothly, results are being published outside individual polling stations.
