Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s former Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu led a team of African all-stars in a charity football match on Thursday, to raise money for people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency and highlight their plight. Kanu, Senegal’s El-Hadji Diouf, Fabian McCarthy of South Africa and Cyrille …
Read More »Nigeria says it ‘by no means’ supports Cameroon secessionists
Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP | Nigeria called for an end to violence in neighbouring Cameroon, where a crisis sparked by a separatist drive in English-speaking areas has forced thousands of people to seek sanctuary across the border. “The Nigerian state by no means supports the secessionists,” Nigerian ambassador Lawan Abba Gashagar …
Read More »Nigeria’s president heads north in election hint
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday made his first trip as Nigerian president to a key state, in the latest sign of his return to the national stage after months of illness and treatment abroad. The 74-year-old’s two-day visit to Kano, northern Nigeria’s largest city and capital of …
Read More »Returning Nigerians express relief after ‘hell’ of Libya camps
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian migrants expressed relief as they arrived home on Tuesday from Libya, describing the “hell” of harsh conditions in detention camps where they had been held. African heads of state have condemned the treatment of undocumented migrants in Libya, including widespread violence and apparent slave trading. …
Read More »Switzerland to return $320m stolen by Nigerian dictator
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Around $321 million in public funds stolen by former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha will be returned to the African country, Switzerland said Monday. The money, originally deposited in Luxembourg, was confiscated by a Swiss court in late 2014 and in March last year the two …
Read More »Nigerian ex-vice president rejoins opposition ahead of 2019 vote
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, announced Sunday that he had rejoined the country’s main opposition party, the latest sign he aims to run for the presidency in 2019. In a live video broadcast on his Facebook page, Abubakar said he was again joining the …
Read More »Twin suicide bombings kill at least 13 in Nigeria
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | At least 13 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in a dual suicide bomb attack at a busy morning market in northeast Nigeria on Saturday, according to local sources. The attacks occurred in the town of Biu, about 185 kilometres (115 miles) south …
Read More »Nearly 1,300 Nigerians repatriated from Libya in November
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nearly 1,300 Nigerian migrants were brought home from Libya in November — nearly twice as many as in the previous month, the head of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Friday. “1,295 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya in November after being stranded in …
Read More »WC DRAW: Spain vs Portugal and Nigeria vs Argentina
Spain and Portugal drawn in same World Cup group Moscow, Russia | AFP | The 2010 World Cup winners Spain were placed in the same group as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in an exciting draw for the 2018 tournament in Russia on Friday. Neymar’s Brazil meanwhile will have to negotiate a …
Read More »‘Miracle cure’ business for HIV/AIDS thriving
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Blessing wanted to believe the advert on Facebook that promised “a cure for AIDS”. Infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), she felt the ad was her only hope — so against her better judgement, she clicked on the link. The 30-year-old Nigerian had created …
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