Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | The BBC this week launches its new Igbo and Yoruba services in Nigeria, as part of an expansion in local languages aimed at more in-depth reporting of countries around the world. The digital-only services go live online and on social media on Monday, joining a …
Read More »Cameroon separatists prepare for guerrilla war
Ikom, Nigeria | AFP | For the first time in his life, Victor Obi believes that the only way to win freedom in Cameroon is with a gun. “I don’t want to die, but the only future is our independence, and they will not give it to us,” said the …
Read More »Suicide blasts kill 19 in northeast Nigeria: civilian militia
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Three suicide bombers killed 19 people at a fish market in northeast Nigeria, civilian militia leaders said on Saturday, in an attack blamed on Boko Haram jihadists. The blasts happened at about 8:30 pm (1930 GMT) on Friday in Konduga, some 35 kilometres (20 miles) …
Read More »Chibok girls’ kidnapper jailed for 15 years
Kainji, Nigeria | AFP | A man involved in the 2014 kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in northeast Nigeria has been jailed for 15 years, the government confirmed on Tuesday. The conviction of Haruna Yahaya, 35, is the first in relation to the mass abduction, which triggered global …
Read More »Mass trials of Boko Haram suspects to resume in Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Hundreds of Boko Haram suspects were due back in court Monday to hear if they will be prosecuted, sentenced or released, as proceedings resumed at a military base in central Nigeria. The first major prosecutions of people arrested during the insurgency began last October, involving …
Read More »Nigeria’s president warns Togo about political instability
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday warned about the dangers of political unrest as he met the new envoy from Togo, where there has been a wave of anti-government protests. Buhari did not specifically mention Togo as he received the newly appointed ambassador, Lene Dimban, …
Read More »Nigeria govt official with 86 cars charged with fraud
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | A Nigerian government official found with 86 new luxury cars was charged with fraud on Thursday, court papers show. Ibrahim Tumsah, finance and account director at the Power, Works and Housing Ministry was arraigned at Abuja Federal High Court along with his brother Tijani Tumsah, …
Read More »Six children die in Nigeria boat crash: emergency services
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Six children drowned when two boats collided and capsized in northwest Nigeria, the emergency services said on Wednesday. A passenger boat on the River Niger collided head-on with another vessel carrying onions to a market in the fishing town of Yauri in Kebbi state on …
Read More »Nigeria lassa fever death toll now 31: health minister
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Thirty-one people have died from Lassa fever in Nigeria since the start of this year, the health minister said, with cases of the viral disease recorded across the country. Isaac Adewole told reporters in Abuja on Monday that the outbreak was currently “active in 15 …
Read More »Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon despite ‘defeated’ claims
Maiduguri, Nigeria | AFP | Boko Haram fighters stormed a village in northeast Nigeria and murdered two civilians, while six people were killed in an attack in northern Cameroon, a local resident and security sources told AFP on Monday. The attacks came as Nigeria’s military again maintained the jihadists had …
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