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US-based Nigerian writer, Tope Folarin has won this year's prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing.
He received the £10,000 ($15,000) prize for his short story Miracle,
set in an evangelical Nigerian church in the US city of Texas.
The judges described it as a "delightful and beautifully paced narrative".
Folarin was among five writers short-listed for the prize, regarded as Africa's leading literary award, reports the BBC.
Three other Nigerians were short-listed - Elnathan John for Bayan Layi,
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim for The Whispering Trees and Chinelo Okparanta
for America.
Sierra Leone's Pede Hollist was the only non-Nigerian short-listed for his short story Foreign Aid.
Ms Okparanta was the only female contender.
The chair of judges, Gus Casely-Hayford, awarded Folarin the prize at a
dinner held at the Bodleian Library at Oxford University in the UK.
"Tope Folarin's Miracle is another superb Caine Prize winner - a
delightful and beautifully paced narrative, that is exquisitely observed
and utterly compelling," he said.
In Miracle, a congregation gathers at a church to witness the healing powers of a blind pastor-prophet.
"Religion and the gullibility of those caught in the deceit that
sometimes comes with faith rise to the surface as a young boy volunteers
to be healed and begins to believe in miracles," the Caine Prize said
in a statement.
This is the second consecutive year that a Nigerian has won the prize.
Last year's winner was Rotimi Babatunde for his story Bombay's Republic
- about Nigerian soldiers who fought in the Burma campaign during World
War II.
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