President-elect Bola Tinubu can thank an opposition split for paving his way to the presidency.

In the last few years, powerful criminal gangs have terrorised a swathe of north west and central Nigeria. From camps in the forest, gangs of bandits on motorbikes have attacked villages killing and kidnapping men, women and children. So how can Nigeria's new leader restore security? What does it say about the future of security in Africa's most populous nation? Alex Last has been to the north western city of Katsina to meet some of those battling the bandits.

Photo: Some of the weapons used by vigilantes in Zamfara state, north west Nigeria, 2019 (Photo by Kola Sulaimon / AFP via Getty Images)

Reporter: Alex Last Producer: Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar Sound mix: Rod Farquhar Series Editor: Penny Murphy Production assistant: Helena Warwick-Cross

In the last few years, powerful criminal gangs have terrorised a swathe of north west and central Nigeria. From camps in the forest, gangs of bandits on motorbikes have attacked villages killing and kidnapping men, women and children. So how can Nigeria's new leader restore security? What does it say about the future of security in Africa's most populous nation? Alex Last has been to the north western city of Katsina to meet some of those battling the bandits.

Photo: Some of the weapons used by vigilantes in Zamfara state, north west Nigeria, 2019 (Photo by Kola Sulaimon / AFP via Getty Images)

Reporter: Alex Last Producer: Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar Sound mix: Rod Farquhar Series Editor: Penny Murphy Production assistant: Helena Warwick-Cross

Bola Tinubu has been announced as the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election. But what's on the president-elect to-do list?

On the day Bola Tinubu has been declared president-elect, Nigerians have different reactions to the election result.

Bola Tinubu, 70, is declared the winner of Nigeria's election despite opposition calls for a rerun.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Rwandan refugees in Mozambique have described as "frightening" the ratification of an extradition treaty between the two countries.

A spokesman for the refugees said he believed it would be used to persecute opponents of the government in Kigali.

A number of Rwandan dissidents have been murdered in southern Africa in recent years.

One was shot dead two years ago in the Mozambican capital, another was found floating in the sea in 2012.

Rwandan troops have been deployed to Mozambique to help fight an Islamist insurgency.

Image source, Getty Images

When news spread that a massive earthquake had hit Turkey and Syria in February, the children of Becky’s Foundation, a residential home and school in Ghana, started praying.

A young man many referred to as "uncle" or "Father Christian" was lost in the rubble.

To the rest of the world he was the international footballer, Christian Atsu, who had played for Premier League sides Newcastle and Everton before his current team Hatayspor.

But for the children, he was a pillar of support who would appear unexpectedly on visits bearing football shirts and leading the children in games.

The director of the project, Seth Asiedu, remembers the first time he visited: “It was like a festival.

"The whole community came out in their numbers to have a glimpse of him… And then there was a game between the girls and boys with different Newcastle jerseys."

As the son of a fisherman, 31-year-old Atsu had struggled to get to training and buy football boots - and was determined to help children who’d had a similarly hard start.

So when the news of the footballer's death finally came, many were inconsolable. All the children have been given counselling.

And the question of who will continue Atsu’s support is also at the forefront of Mr Asiedu's mind. They were halfway through the construction of a new school building.

He remains hopeful though – especially as Newcastle fans have themselves started fundraising in tribute to their former player.

In the meantime, he can’t help but speak of the football star, his friend, in the present tense:

“Anytime he comes here you see that there’s full joy… And when he gets out of his car all the children will run and jump on him and embrace him... And he himself will feel very happy.”

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Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Ivory Coast and Guinea are despatching specially chartered aircraft to Tunisia to bring hundreds of their citizens back home.

Officials in both Conakry and Yamoussoukro expressed alarm at inflammatory comments made last week by the Tunisian President, Kais Saied.

Mr Saied said that illegal migration was causing “demographic” changes in the country, saying those who were there illegally would not be allowed to stay.

He accused them of being behind rising crime in Tunisia.

He also instructed Tunisian security forces to take urgent measures against undocumented migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

Dozens of Guineans and Ivorians have sought refuge in their countries' embassies. Some have reported being physically assaulted.

Nduka Orjinmo
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

According to official results, voter turnout in Nigeria's election was 27%, one of the lowest since the end of military rule in 1999.

With about 8.8 million votes cast for president-elect Bola Tinubu, the statistics show he was the choice of less than 10% of the record 93 million who registered to vote, helped by a divided opposition.

But voter apathy is not thought to have been as much of a factor as possible issues with the voters’ roll and problems on voting day.

Since 2011, when the electoral commission began using biometrics to register voters, 87 million people have gone to the trouble of physically going to collect their voter cards.

Yet the voters’ roll is not automatically updated when people die or leave the country and with the introduction of a new electronic voting system, known as Bvas, those who cheated the system and voted multiple times in the past might also have been greatly reduced this time - so the 27% turnout might be reflective of the actual voting strength in the country.

A recent cash crisis and fuel scarcity in parts of the country also affected those that often travel to vote.

On election day itself many potential voters left polling stations without casting their ballots after voting did not start on time in many places.

In some opposition strongholds, voting did not take place at all and there were also cases of ballot-box snatching and voter intimidation in southern states such as Rivers, Lagos and Delta.

2 March 2023: This post has been updated to make it clear that 87 million voters cards have been collected since 2011.

Akinyemi Akinrujomu
BBC News Yoruba editor, Lagos

The declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the candidate for the governing APC party, as winner of Nigeria’s presidential election was greeted by wild jubilation in his strongholds in the south-west.

The BBC’s reporters witnessed first-hand celebratory marches and cavorting in the streets of Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states.

Ondo and Ekiti states were won overwhelming by Mr Tinubu.

In Ondo, road transport workers celebrated the former Lagos state governor’s victory in a popular bus terminal, dancing and making merry for some hours.

His supporters in Ekiti danced to the beats of a live band as they marched to the state governor’s office. Governor Biodun Oyebanji, an APC member, came out to receive and congratulate them on Mr Tinubu’s victory.

The south-western state of Osun state was actually won by a slim margin by Atiku Abubakar, the PDP candidate.

But for the nearly half of voters in support of Mr Tinubu, it was a time for celebration. Traditional drummers lined the streets beating their drums for excited dancers.

Nigeria’s president-elect Bola Tinubu has officially received his winner’s certificate at a ceremony in the capital, Abuja.

Supporters cheered, danced and shouted slogans as a beaming Mr Tinubu, wearing a white agbada - a flowing robe - and a red cap, held the certificate aloft. The moment has been shared on Twitter:

While celebrations have also broken out in his south-western support base, in the commercial city of Lagos, where opposition Labour Party Peter Obi trounced Mr Bola won by a slim margin, things were a little more muted.

Some celebrated into the early hours, but the usually busy streets of Lagos are mostly deserted on Wednesday morning, some businesses remain closed.

Outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated Mr Tinubu, who was the ruling party’s candidate. He also appealed for calm and respect for the outcome of the election.

In remarks before the ceremony, Mr Tinubu also echoed this message.

On Tuesday, the main opposition parties dismissed the poll as a sham, and demanded a rerun.

Mr Tinubu got 37% of the vote, his main rival Atiku Abubakar, of the PDP, polled 29%, and Labour's Peter Obi 25%, according to the official results.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Nigeria's opposition Labour Party is to mount a legal challenge against the presidential election victory of Bola Tinubu of the governing APC.

Labour's Peter Obi came third in Saturday's vote.

The opposition says the results were rigged; it is calling for fresh polls.

Just 28% of eligible Nigerian voters took part. Some could not cast their ballot because of malfunctioning machines.

Mr Tinubu won a 37% share of the votes, a lower margin of victory than previous Nigerian presidents.

European Union election observers said there had been significant shortcomings in the electoral process, adding there had been vote-buying but it was too early say how widespread this was.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Awka, Anambra state

Image source, AFP

The main city of Awka in Nigeria’s south-eastern Anambra state is quiet. This is the stronghold for Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate who came third in the presidential election with 25%.

People are going about their normal daily activities in the state where Mr Obi, a wealthy businessman has served two terms as governor.

But underneath the façade there is anger about the outcome of last Saturday’s election.

Many people l have spoken to say they feel bitter and frustrated - like they have been robbed of their votes by the electoral commission and what they regard as a fraudulent electoral process.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, Noticias

Flooding in Mozambique has isolated the town of Mabote in the southern province of Inhambane, with the Mapinhane-Mabote road, the only land connection to the rest of the province, cut off.

Provincial roads official Dady Mendes explained that heavy rains that hit the province after the landfall of tropical cyclone Freddy made it difficult for vehicles and people to move around.

He said the rains destroyed close to 700km (435 miles) of roads across the province, disrupting traffic.

Meanwhile in the city of Beira, in the central Sofala province, the number of families looking for accommodation centres continues to increase because their homes are flooded.

On Tuesday, about 200 people sought accommodation at a local primary school in Matadauro, with a district administrator saying some families would be transferred elsewhere to avoid overcrowding.

More rain is expected in the coming days.

Members of Sierra Leone's new generation of internationals are targeting 'limitless' success as they seek qualification for the next Africa Cup of Nations.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Security forces in Benin repulsed an early Tuesday morning attack at a military base in the north of the country, the website of privately-owned daily 24 Heures au Benin has reported.

Unidentified gunmen attacked the Gouande military base in the Altacora Departement near the border with neighbouring Togo and Burkina Faso.

The attack happened between 02:00 and 05:00 GMT.

Benin, like Togo, has seen increased cross-border incursions from militants based in Burkina Faso since the middle of 2022.

There has been no official statement from the authorities about casualties or ongoing operations by the army following the attack, the website said.

French prosecutors are investigating an allegation of rape made against the Morocco and PSG defender, said to have taken place at his home in Paris.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, AFP

Civil society and human rights groups have called on the UN to block efforts by the Ethiopian government to end an independent probe into crimes allegedly committed during a brutal civil war in the country’s north.

The more than 60 organisations include Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

In a letter written to the UN Human Rights Council member states, the organisations said they were alarmed by plans by Addis Ababa to present a resolution that seeks to cut short a UN- mandated inquiry.

Ethiopia has resisted the UN’s International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) since its inception in 2021 calling it politically motivated and had previously attempted to cut its funding.

Last month, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen urged the African Union to support Ethiopia’s bid to terminate what he called the commission’s “unwarranted mandate”.

The civil society and rights organisations called this push by Addis Ababa “unprecedented” and one that could set “a dangerous precedent” about avoiding international scrutiny.

The ICHREE work is needed to ensure justice and accountability particularly as trust in domestic institutions is eroded and authorities continue to harass human rights defenders, the organisations say.

Ethiopia’s civil war was marked by accusations of grave rights violations including killing of unarmed civilians and use of rape as a weapon, some of which according to the UN could amount to war crimes.

All warring parties have been accused of the crimes.

A landmark peace deal was signed in November between the government and fighters from Tigray region and helped a return of relative peace and normality to northern Ethiopia.

But there is still little to no signs of holding perpetrators accountable for alleged abuses.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

A section of members of parliament from the conflict-hit North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo want President Felix Tshisekedi to consider engaging the M23 rebel group.

In an open letter, the MPs said a peaceful settlement would de-escalate the ongoing conflict in eastern DR Congo that has displaced hundreds of thousands in the past year.

The legislators have demanded to be involved in peace initiatives seeking to resolve the security crisis in the region.

They want humanitarian corridors and roads blocked in areas affected by conflict be opened.

In recent weeks, the M23 has captured villages and towns as they attempt to advance towards the regional capital, Goma.

The group was scheduled to commence withdrawal from positions they occupied in recent offensives beginning Tuesday for a period of one month. It is not clear if the rebels have complied with the retreat plan.

The M23 has engaged government forces in heavy fighting for most of February.

A UN panel of experts says that M23 is supported by Rwanda, something which Kigali denies.