Nigeria

Boko Haram militants attack Nigerian village, kill over 100, say residents

At least 100 villagers were killed in northeastern Nigeria when suspected Boko Haram Islamic extremists opened fire on a market, on worshippers and in people's homes, residents said Wednesday, the latest killings in Africa's longest struggle with militancy. More than 50 extremists on motorcycles rode into the Tarmuwa council area of Yobe state on Sunday evening and began firing before setting buildings ablaze, according to Yobe police spokesperson Dungus Abdulkarim. The police blamed the attack on Boko Haram, which since 2009 has launched an insurgency to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, in the region. Boko Haram has since splintered into different factions, together accounting for the direct deaths of at least 35,000 people and the displacement of more than 2 million, as well as a humanitarian crisis with millions of people in dire need of foreign aid. At least 1,500 people have so far been killed in the region this year in attacks by armed groups, ..

Indian companies should develop new products tailored for Nigeria: LFZ CEO

Lagos Free Zone (LFZ) CEO Adesuwa Ladoja on Monday said there is an opportunity for Indian companies to develop new products tailored for the Nigerian as well as the broader African markets. LFZ is a port-based industrial zone (850 hectares) in Lagos, Nigeria, with over USD 2.75 billion committed FDI projects to date. "We are owned and promoted by Tolaram Group and located in Lekki, the sun rise development corridor in Lagos," Ladoja told PTI. According to her, Tolaram Group has observed that having a local presence in Nigeria allows companies to better understand and adapt to the Nigerian market, leading to more profitable operations. "This is an opportunity for Indian companies to develop new products tailored to the Nigerian and broader African markets," Ladoja said. She said LFZ is serving global brands like BASF, Tata International, Kellogg's, Colgate, Arla, Dufil, Lekki Portamong among others as their current tenants. "We are ideally positioned to serve the manufacturing se

Nigeria becomes first African basketball team to qualify for Olympic QFs

Ezinne Kalu had a giant smile on her face as she joined her teammates for a celebratory run around the court with Nigerian flags. Nigeria had reached a place no African country in men's or women's basketball had ever gone before the quarter-finals of the Olympics. Kalu scored 21 points and Nigeria secured a spot in the elimination round in Paris by downing Canada 79-70 on Sunday for its second win of the Olympics. It means a lot, you know, not just to us as a team, but to the entire world of Africa, Kalu said. "It only gets harder from here." When the final buzzer sounded, the team went to midcourt to start celebrating, with an assistant coach using her phone to record the moment. The Nigerians stopped to high-five the Canadians and then returned to celebrating with a midcourt huddle. An assistant coach grabbed a flag from a fan for photos on the court, and the Nigerians took their time hugging and posing for more photos as they savoured the moment. Surreal. This isn't going to

Nigeria slaps $220 mn fine on Meta over violation of data protection laws

Nigeria's government on Friday announced a fine of USD 220 million on Meta, saying its investigations found multiple and repeated violations of the country's data protection and consumer rights laws on Facebook and WhatsApp. A statement from Nigeria's Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, or FCCPC, listed five ways that Meta violated data laws in the West African country, including by sharing the data of Nigerians without authorization, denying consumers the right to self-determine the use of their data, discriminatory practices as well as abuse of market dominance. "Being satisfied with the significant evidence on the record, and that Meta Parties have been provided every opportunity to articulate any position ... the Commission has now entered a Final Order, and issued a penalty against Meta Parties," FCCPC chief executive Adamu Abdullahi said in a statement. A spokesperson for Meta didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Nigeria, which is Africa's

Female suicide bombers kill at least 18 people in Nigeria, say officials

Female suicide bombers targeted a wedding, a funeral, and a hospital in coordinated attacks in northern Nigeria that killed at least 18 people, local authorities said Sunday. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the the attacks in Borno state, which has been heavily affected by the insurgency launched in 2009 by Boko Haram. The extremist group previously has used women and girls in suicide bombings, prompting suspicions that some attackers come from the many thousands of people the militants have kidnapped over the years, including schoolchildren. The first suicide bomber detonated a device during a marriage celebration in the northeastern town of Gwoza, Barkindo Saidu, director-general of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, told reporters. Minutes later, another blast occurred near General Hospital, Saidu said, and the third bomber at the funeral service was disguised as a mourner. Children and pregnant women were among those killed. At least 30 others were wounde

India, Nigeria agree to early conclusion of local currency settlement

India and Nigeria have agreed to an early conclusion of a local currency settlement system agreement to further strengthen economic ties between the two countries. According to the department of commerce, a seven-member delegation from India led by Additional Secretary in the commerce ministry Amardeep Singh Bhatia visited Abuja, Nigeria for the second session of India-Nigeria Joint Trade Committee (JTC) on April 29-30. It was held after a gap of five years. Both sides have identified several focus areas to enhance bilateral trade and mutually beneficial investments. The sectors include crude oil, natural gas, pharmaceuticals, unified payments interface (UPI), local currency settlement system, power and renewable energy, agriculture and food processing, education, transport, railway, aviation, and MSMEs development. "Both sides agreed to the early conclusion of a local currency settlement system agreement to further strengthen bilateral economic ties," the department has said on ..

India-Nigeria joint commission meet: EAM Jaishankar stresses on cooperation

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday co-chaired the 6th Joint Commission Meeting between India and Nigeria and said that both the sides have agreed to strengthen efforts in a slew of sectors, including people-to-people exchange, energy, mobility and consular cooperations. The Joint Commission meeting, which Jaishankar co-chaired along with his counterpart Yusuf Tuggar, also discussed opportunities in the sectors of energy, power, renewables, transport, healthcare, fintech, agriculture, and security between the two countries. Co-chaired the 6th Joint Commission Meeting along with FM @YusufTuggar. Noted the expansion of our economic cooperation, especially trade and investment. Discussed new opportunities in energy, power, renewables, transport, healthcare, fintech, agriculture and security," Jaishankar said in a post on X. Earlier, he arrived in the Nigerian capital Abuja from Lagos, which he reached on Sunday after attending the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in ...

Global South is about mindset, solidarity, self-reliance: EAM Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said Global South is about a "mindset, a solidarity and a self-reliance". Addressing the Nigerian Institute Of International Affairs (NIIA) here on India and the Global South, he said the global agenda today is on promoting rebalancing and multipolarity, thereby restoring the world to its natural diversity. "Contemporary challenges emanate from old forms of domination as well as new economic concentration...Global South is about a mindset, a solidarity and a self-reliance," Jaishankar said. The transformation over the last decade, the minister said, has "enabled India to be an example, a partner and a contributor". Jaishankar arrived in Nigeria in the concluding leg of his two-nation tour to Uganda and Nigeria. He arrived in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday after attending the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Uganda.

India proud of its traditions, culture and history, says EAM Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that India today is proud of its traditions, its culture and its history as he underlined that there are very few civilisations who have survived as a modern nation and we are one of them. Jaishankar, who arrived in Nigeria after attending the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Uganda, made the remarks while addressing the Indian community members here. We are today sending a message to the world, that this is also an India, which is proud of its traditions, of its culture, of its history, said Jaishankar, who is here on his first visit as External Affairs Minister. The minister said that in the world there are very few civilizations, who have survived as a modern nation and we are one of them." He highlighted developmental activities in India, saying there is a sense today that India is being built and there is a flow of investment. On ties with Nigeria, Jaishankar said that the two sides have business of about USD 12-15 bil

Over 140 people killed in Nigeria amid rising ethnic, religious tensions

Amnesty International Nigeria's office told The Associated Press that it has so far confirmed 140 deaths in the Christian-dominated Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi local government areas of Plateau

Nigeria aims Brics in two years, join G-20 in new foreign policy push

BRICS is a grouping of the emerging market powers Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In August they invited six other nations, including top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, to join their ranks

Thwarted escape attempt by detained Prez Bazoum ousted in coup: Niger Junta

Niger's ruling junta said late Thursday it had thwarted an overnight attempt by deposed president Mohamed Bazoum to escape detention with his family nearly three months after he was detained in the wake of a military coup. In a communique, Col Maj Amadou Abdramane said that Bazoum tried to reach a waiting vehicle at around 3 am that was to take him to the outskirts of the capital, Niamey, along with his family, two cooks and his security personnel. From there, they were to be flown to Nigeria aboard two helicopters belonging to a foreign power, Abdramane said. This plan to destabilise our country was thwarted, Abdramane said, adding that the main perpetrators had been arrested and an investigation has already been opened by the public prosecutor. Bazoum has been under house arrest with his wife and son since being ousted in July, and has refused to resign. The junta had cut off his electricity and water. The United States has formally declared that the ousting of Bazoum was a coup

S Africa to topple Nigeria to regain mantle as continent's biggest economy

The IMF's World Economic Outlook envisions South Africa's gross domestic product reaching $401 billion based on current prices in 2024, compared with Nigeria's $395 billion

PM Modi, Nigerian President Tinubu discusses defence, agriculture

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the sidelines of the 18th G20 Summit and discussed wide-ranging issues including defence

Multi-billion dollar India-Nigeria infra deal to boost agriculture, ports

The agreement, signed on Sept. 6 with Invest India, is expected to help the West African country industrialize its agriculture and manufacturing sectors and cut reliance on imports

Nigeria gets $14 billion investment pledges from India, seeks economic pact

Skipperseil Ltd's founding Chairman Jitender Sachdeva and India's Bharti Enterprises each pledged $1.6 billion over four years to build power generation plants and $700 million in Nigeria

Nigerian Ministers call for higher investments, closer ties with India

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu discussed potential incentives for Indian industrialists at business roundtable

Defence Minister Rajnath to meet Nigerian President ahead of G20 summit

Nigerian President Tinubu is the first head of state to arrive in the national capital for the G20 summit scheduled to be held on September 9, 10

Carbon markets 'bogus solutions' as rich keeps polluting: African activist

A Nigerian environmental activist declared Wednesday at the first African Climate Summit that carbon markets are bogus solutions, providing a sharp reminder that not all of Africa's 1.3 billion people support richer countries using the continent's green spaces to offset continued polluting at home. The summit has sought to reframe the African continent, which has enormous amounts of clean energy minerals and renewable energy sources, as less of a victim of climate change driven by the world's biggest economies and more of the solution, with. But investment in the continent in exchange for the ability to keep polluting elsewhere has angered some in Africa who prefer to see China, the United States, India, the European Union and others rein in their emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases. We reject forced solutions on our land, Priscilla Achakpa, founder of the Nigeria-based Women Environmental Programme, told summit participants on the event's final day. She urged the so-called

Emerging economies pushing to end dollar's dominance. What's the option?

Business has vanished at Kingsley Odafe's clothing shop in Nigeria's capital, forcing him to lay off three employees. One culprit for his troubles stands out: The US dollar's strength against the Nigerian currency, the naira, has pushed the price of garments and other foreign goods beyond the reach of local consumers. A bag of imported clothes costs three times what it did two years ago. The price these days is running around 350,000 naira, or USD 450. There are no sales anymore because people have to eat first before thinking of buying clothes," Odafe said. Across the developing world, many countries are fed up with America's dominance of the global financial system especially the power of the dollar. They will air their grievances next week as the BRICS bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet with other emerging market countries in Johannesburg, South Africa. But griping about King Dollar is easier than actually deposing the de facto world currency. The dol