US singer Ciara has become one of the first public figures to be granted citizenship of Benin, under a new law offering nationality to the descendants of slaves. In an Instagram post the Grammy award-winner said she was "honoured",

US Grammy winner Ciara becomes one of the first public figures to gain Benin citizenship under My Afro Origins Law.

The Grammy-winning performer's acquisition of citizenship at a ceremony in the city of Cotonou is part of a broader initiative by Benin to attract the Black diaspora, acknowledge the country's role in the transatlantic slave trade and promote tourism focused on slavery-related sites of remembrance.