Ten people who had been held captive by terrorists were freed this week in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state, three security sources and two close associates of those released told Reuters. The people, including aid workers, had been taken by Boko Haram over the past year, the sources said. They were …
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Gunmen storm villages, kill 53 in Nigeria’s Zamfara state
Assailants on motorbikes raided several villages in the northern states, attacking farmers and pursuing those who attempted to flee, police and residents say. Armed assailants have killed 53 people in northwest Nigeria’s Zamfara state, according to police and local residents, the latest violence to hit the restive region. Many motorcycle-riding …
Read More »Nigeria: Police fire tear gas at protesters in Lagos
Men of the Lagos State Police Command on Saturday morning fired tear gas canisters at the protesters gathered at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Lagos, venue of the June 12 Democracy Day protest, The PUNCH reports. The protesters were demanding an end to bad governance when they were tear-gassed by …
Read More »ISWAP terrorist group says Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead
The Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) terrorist group said in an audio recording on Sunday that Abubakar Shekau, leader of rival Nigerian terrorist Islamist group Boko Haram, was dead. Shekau died around May 18 after detonating an explosive device when he was pursued by ISWAP fighters following a battle, …
Read More »Nigeria says it suspends Twitter days after president’s post removed
Nigeria said on Friday it had indefinitely suspended Twitter’s activities, two days after the social media giant removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists. Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the government had acted because of “the persistent use of the platform for activities that …
Read More »Nigerian state government confirms 136 children abducted in Niger state
Gunmen abducted 136 students from an Islamic school in the north-central Nigerian state of Niger on Sunday, a state official said on Wednesday, lower than the estimate of 200 previously offered by the federal government. An armed gang on motorcycles attacked the town of Tegina in the state on Sunday. …
Read More »Twitter removes Nigerian president’s ‘abusive’ civil war post
Twitter removed on Wednesday a post by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari threatening punishment for regional secessionists blamed for attacks on government buildings. The social media firm said Buhari’s tweet, referring to the 1967-70 civil war in the southeastern Biafra region that killed 1 million people, violated its “abusive behaviour” policy …
Read More »Nigeria’s president threatens rebels amid rising violence in southeast
People who promote insurrection in Nigeria face a “rude shock”, its president warned on Tuesday, raising the possibility of a fierce crackdown on rising violence in the southeast that has included arson attacks on police stations and electoral offices. Security forces are already grappling with criminal gangs in the northwest …
Read More »Nigerian police hunt for 200 kidnapped children
Nigerian authorities said on Tuesday that about 200 children had been seized in the latest school kidnapping in its violent north but they ruled out securing their freedom by paying a ransom. Police were trying to track the route the kidnappers had taken with the children, who were seized in …
Read More »Kidnappers abduct students from school in central Nigeria
Kidnappers abducted students in an attack on a school in the north-central Nigerian state of Niger, a state government official said on Sunday. Armed groups carrying out kidnapping for ransom have carried out a series of raids on schools and universities in northern Nigeria in recent months, abducting more than …
Read More »Kidnappers free 14 Nigerian students abducted in Kaduna state
Attackers release 14 remaining students abducted from Greenfield University in northwest Nigeria last month. Kidnappers have released the remaining 14 students who had been held captive after being abducted last month from a northern Nigerian university, officials said. Armed groups have repeatedly attacked schools and universities in northwest Nigeria in …
Read More »More than 70 dead after boat sinks in Nigeria
Nigerian authorities have recovered the bodies of more than 70 people after an overloaded boat capsized in the northwestern state of Kebbi on Wednesday, a state spokesman said. “Seventy-six corpses have so far been recovered, while 22 (people) were rescued, divers are still looking for more bodies,” Abubakar Dakingari, spokesman …
Read More »More than 100 missing, feared dead after Nigerian boat sinks
More than 100 people were missing and feared dead after a boat with more than 165 passengers, including women and children, broke up and sank as it was travelling in Nigeria’s northern Kebbi state. Twenty-two people had been rescued and five bodies recovered, including a baby, according to Sani Dododo, …
Read More »Boat carrying some 200 people capsizes in Nigeria
A boat ferrying about 200 people capsized in the northwestern Nigerian state of Kebbi on Wednesday, though the number of casualties remains unclear, said a spokesman for the state’s governor. Such incidents are not uncommon in Nigeria, with track records of overloading and poor maintenance and safety, though the number …
Read More »Nigeria’s economy grows in first quarter on oil price rise
Nigeria’s economy grew 0.5% in the first quarter, lifted by higher crude production and oil prices, the country’s statistics office said on Sunday, as activities slowly gain momentum after the gradual easing of coronavirus lockdowns. Africa’s largest economy, exited its second recession since 2016 in the fourth quarter, despite a …
Read More »Nigeria’s army chief, 10 others killed in plane crash
The incident occurred as the plane was landing at Kaduna airport ‘due to inclement weather, the army says. Nigeria’s top-ranking army commander Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru and other military officers have been killed when their plane crashed in the country’s north, according to officials. The incident on Friday occurred “due …
Read More »Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader ‘badly wounded’ after clash with rival group: Sources
Nigerian Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has been seriously wounded after trying to kill himself to avoid capture during clashes with rival ISIS-allied militants in the north of the country, two intelligence sources said on Thursday. Shekau’s Boko Haram faction and fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province had …
Read More »Nigeria to reopen airports for international flights from August 29
Nigeria will reopen its airports for international flights from Aug. 29, its aviation minister said on Monday. The airports have been closed since March 23 to all but essential international flights as part of the country’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said four flights would …
Read More »Aid workers ‘killed’ in Nigeria
Five aid workers abducted last month in north-east Nigeria’s Borno State have been killed, reportedly by terrorists. The men were working for Action Against Hunger, the International Rescue Committee, Rich International and the country’s State Emergency Management Agency, Nigeria’s president confirmed. Muhammadu Buhari blamed Boko Haram and vowed to bring …
Read More »World Trade Center catches fire in Nigeria, pumps out huge columns of smoke
A blaze has broken out in one of the World Trade Center’s towers in the capital city of Nigeria, Abuja. Footage from the scene shows a large plume of smoke billowing from the building’s top floors. The fire ignited at the massive tower, which is still under construction, on Monday. …
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