The mob searching for Christians spotted Esther Nwankwo as she went out shopping for her family in this northern Nigerian city, beating and kicking her before she jumped into a passing car.
"I was going shopping for the family when I ran into this large crowd of young men armed with wood, machetes and clubs," the 41-year-old said from her hospital bed, her leg broken and her face bruised. "They pounced on me."
Nigeria's presidential election won by incumbent Goodluck Jonathan has exposed deep divisions in Africa's most populous nation, sparking riots and clashes that a local rights group says has killed more than 200 people.
It is a country whose 150 million population is roughly split in half between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south. It includes some 250 ethnic groups.
Jonathan is the first president from the southern oil-producing Niger Delta region, while his defeated challenger is Muhammadu Buhari, an ex-military ruler from the north. He has alleged rigging in the election, but he has disassociated himself from the rioting.
Mobs took to the streets across the north this week, dragging people who looked like Christians from buildings and hacking them with machetes, while setting churches and ruling party members' houses alight.
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Reprisal attacks
Reprisal attacks have led to Muslims being targeted as well, and the Red Cross says nearly 40,000 people have been displaced by the rioting, many of whom have taken refuge at military and police barracks.
In the city of Kaduna, one witness reported seeing 15 bodies on the streets on Monday, including those stabbed and burnt. Curfews and military patrols appear to have brought relative calm to many areas, but there were continuing reports of reprisals.
In Kano on Wednesday, residents said people in a Christian neighbourhood mobilised and attacked a group of Muslim motorcycle taxi drivers.
The extreme sensitivity of the situation is evident in comments from authorities, aid workers and government officials, who all refuse to provide any overall death toll out of fears it will spark revenge killings.
The Red Cross has spoken of many dead, but will not be more specific.
A well-known Nigerian rights group based in the northern city of Kaduna, Civil Rights Congress, put the toll at more than 200 across the north.
Machete attacks
Rotimi Ajayi, 42, was among those being treated at the main hospital in Kano. He spoke of a mob of youths dragging him from his corner shop, beating him and then hacking him with a machete.
He had deep machete cuts on his forehead and his arm.
"I was in my shop when dozens of youths came in shouting and screaming," he said.
"They pulled me out of my shop and began beating me with clubs. Somebody used his machete to hit me on the forehead the first time, and the second time I tried to use my hand to protect my head and I sustained a big cut."
He said Muslim neighbours arrived and managed to rescue him, putting him on a motorbike and taking him away. His shop was looted and burnt, he said.
Panic broke out in Kano on Wednesday after rumours of more fighting, causing crowds to flee and shops to close in one area. Police said it was only a rumour.
But banks have been closed and money machines have run out of cash in the city, prompting residents to queue up outside at least one in hopes it would open.
"Many of my flock are in my church seeking refuge," said a pastor waiting at the bank, Ema Chika. "They have nothing to eat and rely on me to feed them. Here I am at the bank - I can't get any money."
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