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Why do you need so many soldiers in Nigeria


You know now a lot of soldiers we say to such a small country like Nigeria, and if all the same news portal http://www.naij.com believe it clearly states in the country for more than ten thousand soldiers. So why on such a small country like Nigeria as the military, or have what is hidden secrets in the country.

Child bride freed by Nigerian authorities looks to new beginnings


A teenage girl threatened with the death penalty for murdering her 35-year-old husband in Nigeria, faces an uncertain future after being released from prison.

15 year-old Wasila Tasi’u was accused of killing Umar Sani and three other men with rat poison shortly after they were married. She has spent the last 10 months locked up as her case dragged on, held up by judicial staff strike action and administrative delays.

“An entirely avoidable tragedy, leaving in its wake four dead men and a thoroughly traumatised little girl. Poison – the only feasible escape to freedom – devised from the wild imagination of a naive, depressed little girl caught up in a painful forced marriage to a much older man. A tough lesson for families, communities and a government that is still ambivalent about sanctioning the perpetrators of child marriage.”

World Bank slashes growth forecast for emerging economies


The World Bank has cut its forecasts for growth across emerging economies this year, warning that they face a double whammy from rising US interest rates and lower commodity prices. “Developing countries were an engine of global growth following the financial crisis, but now they face a more difficult economic environment,” said the bank’s president, Jim Yong Kim, as the anti-poverty body published its twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects document.

Growth in emerging economies is expected to be 4.4% in 2015, down from the 4.8% the World Bank was expecting in December.

The World Bank’s senior economist, Franziska Ohnsorge, explained that while the crash in the global oil prices since last year has hit government revenues and undermined growth in exporting countries, it has so far not provided the expected boost to oil importers.

Nigerian court drops case against teen accused of killing husband with poison


A Nigerian court on has formally struck out a case against a 15-year-old girl accused of killing her 35-year-old husband with rat poison.

But Wasila Tasi’u, who was 14 at the time of the alleged murder, was forced to spend another night in custody because of delays in filing paperwork for her release.

The teenager was charged with culpable homicide and faced a possible death sentence if convicted of deliberately lacing a meal she cooked for her husband, Umar Sani, with rat poison.

The former Olympian imprisoned after wanting to stay in UK with pregnant wife


A member of the Nigerian Olympic boxing squad who came to the UK for the London 2012 Games was locked up in immigration detention despite marrying a British woman who is pregnant with his child.

Adedayo Victor Daodu, 25, known as Victor, arrived in the UK in June 2012 to train as a sparring partner with the Nigerian team.

Last week he was sent to Dungavel immigration removal centre in South Lanarkshire and threatened with imminent deportation back to Lagos, to the horror of his Wigan-born wife, Robyn, who is seven months pregnant with their first child. It is the second time he has been detained by immigration officers and sent to Dungavel this year.

Robyn’s parents, both psychiatric nurses, have begun a campaign to keep their family – and unborn grandchild – in the country.

In a letter to the Home Office, they wrote: “When we first met Victor we were both sceptical about his intentions and questioned him relentlessly about who he was and what he was all about.

Nigeria’s favourite satirist goes global after ambushing Robert Mugabe


Adeola Fayehun’s ambush of ageing Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has catapulted the queen of Nigerian satire, already a star in many countries in Africa, into the international spotlight.

In a clip which has received 270,000 views on YouTube, Fayehun and her colleague Omoyele Sowore question Mugabe as he makes his way to and from new Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration on 29 May.

Agriculture will drive Africa's rise to economic power


I was in Mali recently where I met a woman, Maimouna Coulibaly, who several years ago left her job in the United States and returned to her home country to start a seed company called Faso Kaba. She quickly and confidently ramped up production, from 100 tons per year to over 1,000. She is eager to keep expanding, but she’s having a hard time finding financing.

I have heard different versions of this story over the last few months as I travelled around the continent: African farmers and agriculture businesses experiencing an initial burst of entrepreneurial success, reflecting the tremendous potential for agriculture as an economic driver, but then encountering obstacles that raise questions about how to sustain it.

The more I heard, the more I wished I could merge two important meetings taking place this week – the European Development Days in Brussels and the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in Cape Town. The Brussels gathering will include a heavy focus on how development assistance can help improve food production and food security in Africa. In Cape Town, the focus is on attracting private investment to Africa’s rapidly growing economies. At the sidelines of WEF Cape Town, GrowAfrica particularly focuses on how to capitalise on the opportunities that abound in Africa’s agriculture sector.

Makoko Floating School, beacon of hope for the Lagos 'waterworld' – a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 48


Driving into Lagos along the Third Mainland Bridge, the city greets us with a sky as thick as coal-slurry and a soundtrack as soulful as Fela Kuti. Pedestrians slowly criss-cross the eight lanes as we drive, while could-be Area Boys transform the beds of pickup trucks into mobile azonto dance-floors.
Halfway across we turn and spot the Makoko Floating School rising like a beacon out of the murky Lagos Lagoon. It is December 2013, and this is our first glimpse of the inspiring triangular timber structure – only three storeys high, yet commanding the attention of all who travel across the longest bridge in Africa.
We are travelling to meet Nigerian architect Kunlé Adeyemi, the founder and principal of NLÉ Works who, in collaboration with the Makoko Waterfront Community, conceived, designed and built the floating school. Makoko, Nigeria’s oldest slum, is home to a population of roughly 80,000 residents who, over the centuries, have banded together to create an informal but fully working city-on-stilts at the edge of the lagoon.

Update On Kukawa Massacre In Borno State


Fleeing residents from the besieged town of Kukawa, have told a SaharaReporters correspondent that more than 120 people were murdered by Boko Haram terrorists. Kukawa is located in the northern part of Borno State, about 190 kilometers from the State capital Maiduguri.

Boko Haram wreaked havoc on the ancient town of Kukawa during a horrific attack on Wednesday.

SaharaReporters also learned that Boko Haram burned down almost all the town's historic sites including Kuka-Kura tree, which had existed for hundreds of years.

A 39-year-old butcher from Kukawa, Danbaba Umaru, was among those displaced by this attack and told SaharaReporters that he narrowly escaped death.

Expats in Africa earn most, but work world's longest hours


Nigeria has the highest number of high-earning expats. A total of 12 per cent of households earn more than $250,000 per year, making it the top location for earnings, according to InterNations, a network for people who live and work abroad.

Russia and Kazakhstan fall in joint second place for earnings – 11 per cent of expat households fall into the $250,000-plus bracket. The global share of expatriates making that amount per year or more is just three per cent.

Nigeria is also home to the world’s longest expat working week, at 48.2 hours on average. Ghana follows with 47.8 hours. The global average working week for expats is 41 hours.

But foreigners don’t seem to mind the hard work. More than half of the InterNations survey respondents in Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Kenya rated their working hours and work-life balance positively.

Nigeria's Buhari: from military hardman to 'converted democrat'


In the eyes of many Nigerians, General Muhammadu Buhari is just the kind of politician that the country should have moved on from years ago. A dour ex-military man who rejoices in his hardman reputation, he was one of a succession of uniformed leaders during the country's period of military rule in the 1980s and 1990s.

Some, like the late Sani Abacha, were outright kleptocrats, and none of them earned glowing praise for their human rights records. But in a country where civilian leadership has often been just as bad, it is no surprise that many Nigerians were willing to give Mr Buhari a second chance.

True, in mounting a credible and successful challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr Buhari benefited considerably from his opponent's perceived mistakes. Mr Jonathan was roundly criticised both at home and abroad for failing to crush the Boko Haram insurgency in the north, and also for his lacklustre response to their kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls, who have not yet been found.

Boko Haram attacks kill 30 in Nigerian city as new president starts term


A suicide bomb blast outside a mosque and rocket-propelled grenades that exploded into homes as people slept killed at least 30 people in the Nigerian city Maiduguri on Saturday, residents and officials said.

The explosion killed people who were prostrating themselves for afternoon prayers outside the mosque, including traders from the nearby crowded marketplace in the largest city in Nigeria's troubled northeast, survivors said.

Civilian self-defense fighters patrolled until dawn to ensure the Islamic extremists did not get through barriers of sandbags and trenches, said one of the fighters, Abbas Gava.
The nearly six-year-old Islamic uprising in northeastern Nigeria has killed an estimated 13,000 people. Maiduguri's population of two million has swelled with hundreds of thousands of refugees who have been forced from their homes.

Questions over fate of Boko Haram leader after he fails to appear new propaganda video


Speculation is mounting over the fate of the leader of Nigeria's Boko Haram terror sect after the group released a propaganda video in which he was absent.

The group's latest broadcast neither featured nor mentioned Abubakar Shekau, whose cackling, ranting speeches normally play a central role in their publicity videos.

His absence has prompted questions over whether he may have have been killed, injured or removed from the group as its overall commander. During a visit to Boko Haram's strongholds in north-east Nigeria last month, The Daily Telegraph was told by soldiers that they believed he had fled the country, shaving off his Islamist beard to help him disguise.

The new ten-minute long video featured an unidentified young man who said he spoke in the name of "The army of the caliphate in West Africa". The name, versions of which have been used by Boko Haram in the past, is believed to be reference to the group's declaration of allegiance earlier this year to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Nigerian military behind deaths of 8,000 prisoners, says Amnesty


Amnesty International has called for the prosecution of nine senior Nigerian military commanders in a report that accuses them of responsibility for the deaths of more than 8,000 people during their war on the terror group Boko Haram.

The human rights group claimed the military had run amok during its six-year campaign against Boko Haram in north-east Nigeria, killing more than 1,000 people in summary executions.

At least a further 7,000 people - many of them civilians subjected to arbitrary arrest - had died of starvation or neglect while being held and often tortured in overcrowded and insanitary prisons.

'Voodoo sex slaves' freed from blackmail by Spanish police


Four Nigerian women were rescued from "voodoo" death threats after six people were arrested by Spanish police on suspicion of keeping the frightened victims as sex slaves.

According to investigators, the trafficking ring prostituted women in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and other parts of Spain after luring them from their families in Nigeria. They are accused of binding them to an oath to pay back money for the passage to Spain and casting voodoo-type spells to guarantee their obedience.

The women were recruited from poor families in Nigeria and told they would get regular employment in Spain. They were then made to swear oaths that they would work off a debt to the gang of up to €50,000 (£37,000) before they could gain their freedom.

The Dalai Lama at Glastonbury: the atrocities of Isis are 'unthinkable'


The Dalai Lama has publicly criticised the violence and murder carried out by Isis in Africa and the Middle East. Speaking at the Glastonbury festival on Sunday, the 80-year-old spiritual leader said, "A lot of problems we are experiencing are our own creations. Violence is being created this very moment in Syria, Iraq and Nigeria. Humans killing each other in the name of religious faith. Unthinkable. Carry the message of love and tolerance and forgiveness.

A crowd of more than 1,000 festival-goers gathered at the Stone Circle on Sunday morning to hear the Dalai Lama speak. As His Holiness arrived on stage, a spontaneous rendition of Happy Birthday rang out across Worthy Farm - even though it was not the Dalai Lama's birthday.

Know before you go: advice on moving to Nigeria


Still, it can be difficult securing a resident’s permit: ensure your employer is taking advice from Nigeria-specific immigration lawyers and that the terms of your visa and contingency for failure or delays are laid out in your contract.

You may also choose to take out kidnap and ransom insurance, depending on where you’re living (oil workers in Port Harcourt are at higher risk than development workers in Abuja). Note that not all companies will tell employees that they’re covered for kidnap and ransom.

Man accused in Boko Haram abduction of Chibok girls arrested


Nigerian troops have arrested a businessman accused of "participating actively" in Boko Haram's mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls from the northeastern town of Chibok last year, Nigeria's defense ministry said on Tuesday.

Spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade said Babuji Ya'ari headed a "terrorists' intelligence cell" for the Islamic extremists while masquerading as a member of the self-defence Youth Vigilante Group.

That confirms suspicions that the vigilantes have been infiltrated by Boko Haram. Soldiers have told the AP that some of their comrades also belong to Nigeria's homegrown Islamic extremist group.

"The arrest of the businessman ... has also yielded some vital information and facilitated the arrest of other members of the terrorists' intelligence cell who are women," Mr Olukolade said in a statement on Tuesday night. He did not say when the arrests were made or how many people were arrested.

Boko Haram fighters shoot dead 97 people praying in mosques


Boko Haram extremists gunned down nearly 100 Muslims praying in mosques in a northeast Nigerian town during the holy month of Ramadan, a government official and a self-defence fighter said on Thursday.

The attack came on Wednesday night in the town of Kukawa a day after the group another 48 men and boys in a village 22 miles away, according to witnesses who counted the dead.
The people of Kukawa were in several mosques, praying ahead of breaking their day-long fast, when the extremists attacked. They killed 97 people, mainly men, said Abbas Gava, self-defence spokesman, and a senior government official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Mr Gava said his group's fighters in Kukawa said militants also broke into people's homes, killing women and children as they prepared the evening meal.

Kukawa is 110 miles northeast of Maiduguri, the biggest city in northeast Nigeria and the birthplace of Boko Haram.

Nigeria's homegrown extremist group often defiles mosques where it believes clerics espouse too moderate a form of Islam. Wednesday's attack follows a directive from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) for fighters to increase attacks during Ramadan. Boko Haram this year declared allegiance to Isil.

On Tuesday night, the extremists invaded the village of Mussaram, ordered men and women to separate and then opened fire on the men and boys, witnesses said.
"A total of 48 males died on the spot while 17 others escaped with serious injuries," said Maidugu Bida, an official in nearby Monguno who helped bury the dead.

• Man accused in Boko Haram abduction of Chibok girls arrested
On Monday, two suicide bombers blew themselves up prematurely in a village outside Maiduguri just an hour before the arrival of Nigeria's Vice President, Yemi Osinbanjo. He visited some of the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the 5-year-old Islamic uprising that has killed more than 13,000 people and driven 1.5 million from their homes.

Some of those killed in attacks in the past month had only just returned to rebuild towns and villages recaptured this year from Boko Haram by a multinational army.