A Cambridge University college has announced that later this month it is to hand back a sculpture that was originally seized by British troops from the Kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria. The bronze cockerel was one of thousands of artefacts looted during a punitive expedition in 1897. It was …
Read More »Nigeria: Islamic school students beaten for drinking alcohol
The head of an Islamic school has been suspended by the government in Nigeria’s north-central Kwara state after a video emerged showing a group of students being repeatedly lashed. The students, who included some males and a female, were accused of drinking alcohol at a birthday party of one of …
Read More »Nigeria police rescue dozens from ‘torture house’
Police in Nigeria say they have rescued 47 people from what they describe as a “torture house” in the northern state of Kano. The property, in Kano city, was supposed to be a rehabilitation centre. In other words, a privately run facility where parents send their children who they believe …
Read More »Nigeria: army arrest actor Chiwetalu Agu over Ipob outfit
Army in Nigeria has confirmed the arrest of the famous actor Chiwetalu Agu for wearing an outfit bearing the flag of the proscribed group Ipob and inciting people to join it. The Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) is a group that wants a breakaway state in south-east Nigeria. The army …
Read More »Nigeria: nearly 200 villagers rescued from kidnappers by the police
At least 187 villagers who were abducted from their homes by criminal gangs have been rescued by police in northwest Nigeria. The victims, who had spent several weeks in captivity, were freed by security forces following an operation in Tsibiri forest in Zamfara state, police spokesman Mohammed Shehu said. The …
Read More »Nigeria: police arrest dozens of kidnappers
Nigerian police say it has arrested 20 suspected armed kidnappers in the north-west of the country where abductions for ransom are very frequent. According to the authorities, the abductors arrested belonged to two separate gangs that had mainly operated on major motorways in the region. In a statement Police Spokesperson …
Read More »Nigeria: MSF condemns murder of one of its nurses in Zamfara state
International medical charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), has condemned the killing of Hassan Muhammad, one of its nurses in Zamfara state, in the north-west of Nigeria. The nurse was returning to his work station on Saturday when gunmen opened fire on the public vehicle he was travelling in. Two other …
Read More »Nigeria: male civilian workers can now go on paternity leave
A major change in the rules of the Nigerian civil service comes after years of debate around the issue: it is the paternity leave granted to male civilian workers. Government in Nigeria has approved a two-week paternity leave for civil servants. According to Folasade Yemi-Esan, the Nigerian Head of Civil …
Read More »Nigeria: 2,000 passports suspended for violation of covid rules
Authorities in Nigeria say they have suspended the passports of more than 2,000 Nigerians accused of violating Covid-prevention protocols after returning from abroad. According to Dr Mukhtar Mohammed, member of the Covid committee, the passports would remain suspended for a year. Nigeria has strengthened its surveillance system at the airports, …
Read More »Nigeria: armed gangs kill 17 soldiers in the north-west
Army officials in Nigeria say 17 members of the security forces and two civilians have been killed in series of attacks by criminal gangs in the north-west of the country. According to the authorities, the gunmen raided five towns and set fire to a number of military camps in the …
Read More »