Benin

Half the 800 graduating students at the Federal University of Benin, Nigeria, were prevented from attending their degree ceremony by armed soldiers, who cordoned off the area to forestall a repetition of the violence that took place at the University of Ibadan last year.

The students then burned cars belonging to an arms dealer close to former head of state, the late Sani Abacha. Soldiers were on full alert throughout the ceremony.