Niger's president sworn in for a second term after disputed vote

Niamey (AFP) - Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou was sworn in Saturday to a second five-year term after being re-elected in a run-off vote last month that was boycotted by the opposition.

With his hand on the Koran, Issoufou took the oath of office at a ceremony in Niamey attended by thousands of people including nine African heads of state.

"On March 20, the people made their choice in a calm vote and renewed their confidence in me for a second mandate," Issoufou said in his speech, referring to the poll results that gave him 92 percent of the votes cast.

But the run-off election was marred by low turnout as the opposition called for a boycott because their candidate Hama Amadou, who since November was in jail over shadowy baby-trafficking charges, was flown to France for unspecified medical treatment just four days before the vote.

A Niger court on Tuesday granted Amadou bail on the charges he claims are politically motivated and his supporters have rejected an offer from Issoufou to form a national unity government.

Issoufou used his swearing-in address to highlight the anti-terror fight in the landlocked west African country which is one of the poorest in the world.

Niger is threatened by jihadist groups in the Sahel region to the north and west, and is also the target of attacks by Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists to the southeast.

Evidence of the threat was evident on Friday when six soldiers were killed in an attack in the southeast, blamed on Boko Haram.

"Terrorism is an absolute evil," he said, stressing that "as long as terrorism is not eradicated in northern Mali and as long as Libya is not stabilised, we will not be able to sleep in peace."

The heads of state at the swearing-in included Idriss Deby Itno of Chad, Senegal's Macky Sal, Mali's Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast and Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville. Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi arrived later due to a problem with his plane.