Kano State is no longer safe, as hundreds flee Northern Nigeria
KANO, Nigeria, Mustapha Muhammad (IPS) – “I can no longer stay here in Kano as it rains bombs. The gun battles rattle us… Kano is no longer safe,” said pregnant Funke Nweke of her decision to flee Nigeria’s northern state with her five-year-old daughter. Nweke grimaced as she held her daughter, Nnenna, while they waited at Kano’s [...]
Boko Haram and the dangerous frustration in Nigeria
Boko Haram emerged out of the economic, political and religious frustration of northern Muslims – it will not be defeated unless these issues are addressed. “When you get a situation where a bunch of people can go into a place of worship and open fire through the windows”, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka lamented in a recent interview [...]
The billions of dollars siphoned through corruption in Nigeria could have been used to maintain subsidy on fuel
KANO, Nigeria, (IPS) – As a nationwide strike and protests against the lifting of the fuel subsidy paralysed Nigeria for the third day in a row Wednesday, analysts say the billions of dollars a year lost to corruption in the oil industry could have been used to leave the subsidy in place. ”We know that because [...]
Nigeria is slowly becoming another Afghanistan as suicide bomber strikes local UN complex
The Nigerian capital of Abuja has once agin been rocked with a massive bomb blast that hit the United Nation’s office and killing at least ten people. It is reported that the blast was as a result of a car bomb that that came from the basement of the building. The building which houses the main offices of the UN in [...]
Big loss for the African Movie Industry as Nigerian actor Sam Loco Efe dies
According to reports coming out of Nigeria, top Nollywood star actor and comedian, Sam Loco Efe, has died. The report stated that the talented actor died on location in his hotel room earlier today in Owerri, in the state of Imo. Sam Loco Efe who was 66 years old, died in his sleep after he [...]
Nigeria’s Borno State Governor urges Islamists to accept a ceasefire
Kashim Shettima, the governor of the northern Nigerian state of Borno which was rocked by bomb and shooting attacks blamed on radical Islamists, has urged them to accept a ceasefire and embrace dialogue with authorities. Governor Shettima, called on members of the Boko Haram sect that have in recent weeks stepped up bomb and drive-by shooting attacks in the state capitalMaiduguri to lay [...]
Boko Haram attacks leave 11 people dead in northeastern Nigeria
According to police, 11 people have been killed in multiple blasts and targeted attacks orchestrated by a feared radical Muslim sect in Nigeria’s restive northeast. Borno State police chief Mohammed Abubakar said members of the radical sect locally known as Boko Haram detonated bombs at two police stations and at St. Patrick’s Church Tuesday afternoon in the city of Maiduguri. Ten [...]
Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives arrested on corruption charges
The anti-corruption agency in Nigeria has arrested one of the West African nation’s top politicians on suspicion of defrauding the oil-rich country, an official said. Officers arrested outgoing House of Representatives speaker Dimeji Bankole at his home in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja after the lawmaker resisted arrest for more than four hours, said Femi Babafemi, a [...]
Goodluck Jonathan sworn-in as president in Nigeria
Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in on Sunday after an election that was seen as the fairest in nearly two decades, pledging transformation for a divided country hit by deadly post-poll riots. Jonathan took the oath amid tight security at a colourful ceremony with a military parade and fly-over in the capital of Africa’s most populous country. [...]
Families of murdered graduate poll workers each receive $30,000 from Nigerian government
The Nigerian president has announced that the families of slain young poll workers will each receive more than $30,000. President Goodluck Jonathan said in a statement Tuesday that he wanted to show gratitude to the college graduates who had paid “the supreme sacrifice.” Authorities have said that 10 volunteers died in violence that swept through northern Nigeria after [...]
