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Muhammadu Buhari sworn in as president of Nigeria

By AFP
Nigeria A party supporter wearing All Progressives Congress Party glasses poses with a banner for president-elect Mohammadu Buhari ahead of Friday's handover ceremony in Abuja on May 28, 2015.  By Pius Utomi Ekpei AFP
MAY 29, 2015 LISTEN
A party supporter wearing All Progressives Congress Party glasses poses with a banner for president-elect Mohammadu Buhari ahead of Friday's handover ceremony in Abuja on May 28, 2015. By Pius Utomi Ekpei (AFP)

Abuja (AFP) - Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as the new president of Nigeria on Friday in a historic ceremony after he won the country's first ever opposition victory over a sitting president.

Buhari took the oath of office in the capital Abuja standing next to the man he defeated, former president Goodluck Jonathan.

In the country's first peaceful transfer of power, the 72-year-old takes charge as Nigeria faces crises on several fronts, from severe economic turmoil to Boko Haram's still-raging Islamist insurgency.

The inauguration comes 32 years after the former army general seized power in a military coup. He was ousted after 20 months in office.

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