Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | One in seven Nigerians uses drugs, more than twice the global average, according to the country’s first major national drug-use survey published on Tuesday. The survey, conducted by the Nigerian government, the European Union and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC), said an …
Read More »Top judge’s suspension not linked to election: Nigeria
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s government has denied suggestions that the suspension of the country’s top judge on corruption charges was linked to the upcoming election. President Muhammadu Buhari replaced Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen on Friday, sparking claims he had breached the constitution and was trying to manipulate the judiciary. …
Read More »Endgame approaching for Nigeria’s old guard?
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | In a grainy black-and-white photograph, two young Nigerian Army officers play draughts, their faces a study in concentration. Behind them, another man looks on. The old image is said to have been taken before Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha came to public prominence …
Read More »Nigeria: Africa’s top oil producer, world’s extreme poverty capital
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | In the Ago Egun Bariga area of Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, there is no road, no electricity, no running water and no rubbish collection. Now that high grass has blocked access to the water, there is no work either. The people of Ago Egun Bariga have …
Read More »Privatise Nigeria’s oil industry? Easier said than done
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A leading contender in Nigeria’s presidential election next month has pledged to privatise the country’s oil industry, but that’s a promise that might prove hard to keep, some observers say. Atiku Abubakar, the main opposition party contender, has vowed to break up the Nigerian National Petroleum …
Read More »Nigeria: main candidates set out stall as vote looms
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s two main presidential candidates on Wednesday staked their claim for the country’s top job, with one month to go to polling in Africa’s most populous nation. President Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar both staged set-piece meetings to secure the support of a record 84 …
Read More »Seven killed as Boko Haram attacks Nigeria military base
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Seven people were killed when Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base in remote northeast Nigeria, setting fire to shelters for those displaced by the conflict, military and humanitarian sources told AFP Tuesday. The attack in Rann, some 175 kilometres (110 miles) northeast of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, began …
Read More »National security under scrutiny at Nigeria vote
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | In Nigeria, where religious and ethnic identity often determines support for a candidate, Mudi Bawa might well have been expected to vote for Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. Both are northern Muslims. But the fisherman had another reason to choose Buhari: the hope he could help him return to the home …
Read More »Nigeria’s top judge absent from his corruption trial
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s chief justice, Walter Onnoghen, was absent Monday from the first day of his fiercely-disputed trial overshadowed by the country’s upcoming elections. Onnoghen had been scheduled to attend the Code of Conduct Tribunal, a special court set up to enforce ethical conduct among holders of public office. Last week he was …
Read More »Nigeria’s chief justice facing assets charges: court
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s most senior judge was on Saturday charged with failing to declare his assets, in a move the main opposition party said triggered alarm bells as elections approach next month. Chief Justice of Nigeria Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen will appear before a panel of three …
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