Buhari secures historic election victory in Nigeria

The 72-year-old Buhari built an early lead in northern state

Former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari has become the first Nigerian to defeat a sitting president through the ballot box, putting him in charge of Africa's most populous nation and its biggest economy.
Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege, reporting from the capital Abuja, said Buhari was declared the winner after he gained 2.7 million more votes than his rival, incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.

Nigeria's 2015 elections explained in one minute

Our correspondent said that Buhari managed to secure more than 25 percent of votes in 24 states, ruling out a run-off vote.
To win the election, Buhari had needed more than 50 percent of the total votes nationally - and take at least 25 percent of the vote in two thirds of the states.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) party said Buhari received a phone call from incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan during which he immediately conceded defeat and congratulated him on his victory.
"President Jonathan called General Muhammadu Buhari, the winner of the elections, to congratulate him," Lai Mohammed, spokesman for the APC, said.
"There had always been this fear that he might not want to concede, but he will remain a hero for this move. The tension will go down dramatically,
"Anyone who tries to foment trouble on the account that they have lost the election will be doing so purely on his own," he added.
Victory for Buhari marks the first time in Nigeria's history that an opposition party has democratically taken control of the country from the ruling party.