Buhari wins the Nigerian election

Muhammadu Buhari has won Nigeria's presidential race, edging out incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a statement issued by his campaign spokesman Garba Shehu late Tuesday, Buhari thanked the Nigerian people for choosing him and his All Progressives Congress (APC) over Jonathan and the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari holds the lead over incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria's tense general election on Tuesday.

Declarations from 28 states plus the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja put Buhari's lead over Jonathan at just over 1.5 million votes, with the remaining states in his northern heartland.

Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) had 16 states while Jonathan's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was on 12 plus the Federal Capital Territory. Final results are expected to be announced later on Tuesday.

A victory for Buhari would make Jonathan the first incumbent to lose an election in the west African country.

Nigerians also elected a parliament with 739 candidates contending 109 Senate seats and 1,780 candidates competing for 360 National Assembly seats.

Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress, a coalition of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties led by Buhari, are expected to win the largest numbers of seats.

Voting had been postponed by six weeks for fear of Boko Haram attacks. The group has killed an estimated 14,000 people since 2009.