Former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari was elected president of Nigeria on Tuesday, becoming the first opposition candidate to win a presidential election in Africa's most populous nation, NBC News reported. President Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat after a five-year presidential term, marking a peaceful transfer of power in a nation with a political history marred by violence. "Nobody's ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian," Jonathan said in a statement, according to The Associated Press. "I promised the country free and fair elections. I have kept my word." The 72-year-old Buhari — who seized power in a military coup and ruled for 18 months in the 1980s — has a checkered human-rights record, but gained popular appeal by campaigning to crack down on the country's rampant corruption and fight the spread of the terrorist group Boko Haram.
