Latest Nigeria government News

Nigeria signs $1.2 billion deal with Chinese state-owned company to revamp key gas plant

Nov. 13, 2024 12:23 PM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria has inked a $1.2 billion deal with a Chinese firm to revitalize a gas processing facility, a move that officials say could propel the African country to a leading position in aluminum production. The deal between the Chinese state-owned CNCEC and the...

In Africa, meager expectations and some hopes for a second Trump presidency

Nov. 13, 2024 00:15 AM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — African leaders may have been quick to congratulate Donald Trump on his election, professing a desire for mutually beneficial partnerships, but there are meager expectations that his presidency will change things for this continent of over 1.4 billion people. ...

Nigeria’s army chief, who led the country through one of Africa's longest conflicts, dies at 56

Nov. 06, 2024 07:59 AM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s army chief who led soldiers through a critical period in the fight against Islamic extremists in the West African nation's hard-hit northeast has died, President Bola Tinubu said Wednesday. Lt. Gen. Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, who served as army...

Nigeria releases 29 children who potentially faced death penalty for alleged involvement in protests

Nov. 05, 2024 13:25 PM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian authorities released Tuesday 29 children who have been detained for over two months and potentially faced the death penalty for their alleged participation in protests against the country’s record cost-of-living crisis following growing calls for their release. ...

Nigeria’s president orders the release of 29 children facing death penalty over protests

Nov. 04, 2024 15:59 PM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Monday ordered the immediate release of 29 children facing the death penalty after being arraigned for allegedly participating in protests against the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. Under growing...

Building collapse in Nigeria's capital leaves at least 7 dead

Oct. 28, 2024 11:34 AM EDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A building collapsed in a suburban area of Nigeria’s capital over the weekend, killing at least seven people, police said Monday. The building, located in the Sabon-Lugbe area of Abuja, had already been partly demolished and its structure was further...

Nigeria releases American crypto executive after dropping money laundering case

Oct. 24, 2024 15:04 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An American cryptocurrency executive held in Nigeria for the past eight months has been released after authorities there announced they were ending his money laundering trial on health and diplomatic grounds. Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime...

How did as many as 140 people die in one of Nigeria's deadliest tanker explosions?

Oct. 17, 2024 08:58 AM EDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian authorities have announced measures to correct lapses that resulted in the deaths of more than 140 people in an explosion on Wednesday as they were trying to scoop up fuel from an overturned fuel tanker in one of the deadliest road accidents ever in the West African...

They fled their homes to escape Boko Haram. Now Nigeria is resettling them back despite their fears

Oct. 13, 2024 00:14 AM EDT

DAMASAK, Nigeria (AP) — When Boko Haram launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2010, Abdulhameed Salisu packed his bag and fled from his hometown of Damasak in the country's battered Borno state. The 45-year-old father of seven came back with his family early last year....

Where has Cameroon’s 91-year-old leader been? In Europe, an official says

Oct. 08, 2024 17:39 PM EDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities in Cameroon on Tuesday dismissed widespread speculation about the health of 91-year-old President Paul Biya after a long public absence, saying he is on a visit to Europe and doing well. Biya was last seen in public at the China-Africa summit in...