Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s military was on Tuesday accused of ignoring repeated warnings about the movements of Boko Haram fighters before they kidnapped 110 schoolgirls in the country’s restive northeast. The students — the youngest of whom is aged just 10 — were seized from the town of …
Read More »Nigeria skips African summit in blow to free trade deal
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will not attend the African Union summit in Rwanda this week, an official statement said Sunday, in a blow to plans to launch a major free trade treaty across 54 countries. The meeting in Kigali is intended to formally launch the …
Read More »Shell, ENI accused of negligence over Nigeria oil spills
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria was on Friday urged to re-open investigations into 89 oil spills in its southern delta region, after claims that Shell and ENI misreported the causes. Rights group Amnesty International said there were “reasonable doubts” about how the spills happened, suggesting corrosion rather than oil …
Read More »Nigeria promises return of kidnapped schoolgirls
Damaturu, NIGERIA | AFP | Nigeria’s president, in a visit to the country’s troubled northeast, on Monday predicted success in what he described as relentless efforts to release more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram. The jihadists are still holding 112 of the 219 students they abducted from the Borno …
Read More »25 killed in fresh clashes in central Nigeria: police
Lagos, NIGERIA | AFP | Herders are believed to have killed 25 villagers in central Nigeria’s Plateau state, police said on Wednesday, in the latest violence linked to land, water and grazing rights. The killings happened on Monday in the Bassa area of Plateau state, just a few days after …
Read More »Nigeria struggles to contain dramatic spread of deadly Lassa fever
Irrua, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria is battling on two fronts against an unprecedented outbreak of Lassa fever, a cousin of Ebola, that has already killed 110 people this year. Even as doctors are grappling to contain the threat, health watchdogs are struggling to understand why the deadly virus has …
Read More »Tillerson ends Africa trip vowing US backing against terror
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Secretary of State Rex Tillerson brought his truncated maiden Africa trip to a close on Monday, promising the full backing of the United States to two countries on the frontline of the war on terror. Washington’s top diplomat has been on a five-country tour of east …
Read More »Nigeria plane makes emergency landing in Ghana
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A Nigerian plane made an emergency landing in Ghana after smoke was detected in the cabin, officials said Friday, in the latest incident to hit domestic and foreign airline operators. The aircraft, owned by Arik Air, was travelling from Lagos to Accra on Tuesday when …
Read More »Boko Haram kidnap raises school safety, education fears
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Boko Haram’s abduction of 110 girls in northeast Nigeria has prompted fresh fears about safety at schools, nearly four years after a similar kidnapping led to promises of better security. The disappearance of the students from Dapchi, in Yobe state, on February 19, also threatens …
Read More »Two sentenced in Nigeria over 2010 deadly bomb blasts
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | A Nigerian court sentenced two men to life imprisonment on Wednesday over deadly twin bomb attacks which killed 12 people during the country’s 2010 Independence Day celebrations. Charles Okah and Obi Nwabueze were convicted for facilitating and financing the blasts during national celebrations in the capital …
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