RPT-Ex-Nigeria strongman shows election muscle in north

Packed stadium shows Buhari's northern support
* Former military strongman pledges tighter security
* Opposition hope to force President Jonathan to run-off

(Repeats story from March 2 with no changes)
By Sahabi Yahaya
KADUNA, Nigeria, March 2 (Reuters) - Thousands of Nigerians flocked to see former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari launch his campaign for April elections on Wednesday, underlining the grass roots support he commands in the mostly Muslim north.
Supporters were crammed shoulder to shoulder in a sports stadium in the northern city of Kaduna as Buhari, President Goodluck Jonathan's main election rival, took to the podium pledging better security, less corruption and more jobs.
Dressed in a blue agbada -- traditional robes -- he said Africa's most populous nation needed change after 12 years of domination by the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), which has won all three presidential races since military rule ended in 1999, each of them marred by intimidation and fraud.
"The votes which we are going to cast in the upcoming election may amount to a worthless exercise if we are not going to defend them and ensure they count," Buhari said in the Hausa language most widely spoken across northern Nigeria.
"Our civic duty as citizens would be accomplished if after we cast our votes, we stick around to defend them, and ensure they count and are counted," he said to cheers from the crowd.
Ballot boxes were whisked away from polling booths at gunpoint in some areas during previous Nigerian elections and stuffed with forged votes, just one of several acts of fraud which led observers to deem them not credibleRead More