Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Thirteen people have died of cholera in the northeast Nigerian state of Yobe in the past week, the state health commissioner said Friday, blaming the outbreak on contaminated water. Yobe is among the three states worst-hit by the Boko Haram insurgency, with many people living …
Read More »1,200 people displaced by Boko Haram return to Bama
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | At least 1,200 of the more than 100,000 people displaced by Boko Haram violence in Nigeria’s northeastern town of Bama have returned, officials and returnees said Thursday. Bama, a major trading hub on the road to Cameroon and home to 270,000 people, was captured in …
Read More »Why are South Africa and Nigeria cautious about Africa’s free trade deal?
Liesl Louw-Vaudran | ISS AFRICA | The impressive turnout at the African Union’s Extraordinary Summit on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on 21 March showed the continent’s united fervour to boost its economic opportunities. Delegations from 50 countries, including 27 heads of state, attended the summit in …
Read More »Nigeria ex-president ‘unaware’ of Cambridge Analytica campaign role
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian former President Goodluck Jonathan “wasn’t aware” of any use of Cambridge Analytica in his 2015 bid for re-election, his spokesman said Thursday. The Nigerian government is probing claims that Cambridge Analytica, a British-based political consultancy, illegally used Facebook data in past election campaigns. In …
Read More »Lassa fever kills 142 in Nigeria since January: official
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Lassa fever has killed 142 people in Nigeria since the start of the year, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Thursday, reporting a rise of 32 fatalities in a month. “Since the onset of the 2018 outbreak, there have been 142 deaths,” …
Read More »Nigeria central bank meets after months of limbo
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | The Nigerian central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will hold its first meeting this year on Wednesday after a political standoff between the executive and the senate prevented a quorum for months. Experts predict that the committee will hold rates at a record high of 14 …
Read More »18 killed in Boko Haram attack on Nigerian army base, villages
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base and two surrounding villages near the flashpoint Nigerian city of Maiduguri overnight, killing at least 18 people and wounding 84, officials said Monday. It was one of the most brazen attacks in recent months and was a precursor …
Read More »Death toll in Nigerian herding village attack rises to 36
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | The death toll from an attack by suspected cattle rustlers on a herding village in northern Nigeria’s Zamfara state has risen to 36, the local traditional ruler said on Friday. Motorcycle-riding gunmen stormed the village of Bawon-Danji on Wednesday, opening fire on herders and forcing …
Read More »Lagos on lockdown as Buhari makes landmark visit
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Lagos, Nigeria’s thriving economic capital, was on lockdown Thursday for President Muhammadu Buhari’s first official visit to the city as campaigning for next year’s presidential polls heats up. In front of the cameras, it was all smiles between Buhari and Bola Tinubu, a political grandee …
Read More »Shell accuses ex-exec over Nigeria oil deal
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Shell has filed a criminal complaint in the Netherlands against a former employee in connection with a 2011 oil deal in Nigeria, a company spokesman said Wednesday. News of the complaint, which was filed last week, comes at the same time the energy giant is facing …
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