In Nigeria, the Lagos state police commissioner, Mike Okiro, has said that some two hundred suspected members of the militant Yoruba group, the Odua People's Congress, have been arrested in connection with a spate of ethnic violence in the state.

The commissioner said some would be charged with arson and murder.

Earlier, President Obasanjo had threatened to impose a state of emergency if the violence continued.

However, governors of Yoruba states have criticised the threat, saying the OPC was not responsible for the troubles and people were being paid to masquerade as OPC members.

But in northern Nigeria, a committee of elders headed by the former civilian president, Shehu Shagari, has urged the president to impose a state of emergency immediately.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service