Latest Nigeria government News

ECOWAS pledges to 'keep door open' after 3 coup-hit West African nations exit regional bloc

Jan. 29, 2025 12:42 PM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The junta-led West African nations of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have formally withdrawn from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, the body said Wednesday. The previously announced withdrawal, which marks the culmination of a yearlong process during which the...

At least 18 have died after a tanker carrying gasoline exploded in southern Nigeria

Jan. 26, 2025 05:25 AM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least 18 people died and 10 others were injured in southern Nigeria after a gasoline tanker exploded, officials said. The accident happened along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway in the southeastern state of Enugu after the tanker, laden with gasoline, lost...

Nigerian soldiers killed 79 militants and suspected kidnappers in the past week, army says

Jan. 24, 2025 16:45 PM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian soldiers killed 79 militants and suspected kidnappers over the past week, the army said Friday, in an operation targeting a decades-long insurgency by Islamic militants in the northeast and attacks by various armed groups in the northwest. The West...

Nigeria is admitted as a partner country of the BRICS bloc

Jan. 18, 2025 05:27 AM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria has been admitted as a “partner country” of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, according to Brazil, the group’s chair. BRICS was formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009, with South Africa added in 2010, as a counterweight to the...

Nigerian army says it killed 76 extremists during a weeklong operation in Borno State

Jan. 16, 2025 14:10 PM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian troops killed 76 Islamic militants in the country's northeast during operations conducted in various parts of Borno state, the military said Thursday. The operations took place between Jan. 7 and Jan. 13, Nigerian army spokesperson Edward Buba said...

Why do civilians often die in Nigerian military strikes that target rebels?

Jan. 15, 2025 04:30 AM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Nigerian military has mistakenly killed hundreds of civilians in airstrikes targeting armed groups in the nation's conflict-battered north over the years, many of them locals bombed in their villages. The latest misfire was on Saturday when the Nigerian...

At least 40 farmers killed by Boko Haram militants in northeast Nigeria, an official says

Jan. 13, 2025 08:45 AM EST

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — At least 40 farmers were killed in an attack by Islamic militants in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state, a government official said Monday. The attack Sunday was suspected to have been carried out by extremists from the Boko Haram group and its breakaway...

Nigerian airstrike mistakenly kills civilians supporting security forces while targeting rebels

Jan. 13, 2025 05:58 AM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian military airstrike targeting armed groups in the conflict-battered northwest mistakenly killed a number of civilians working in community security outfits, authorities and residents said. It was the third misfire by the military in a little over a...

6 soldiers and 34 extremist rebels die in a clash in northeastern Nigeria, military says

Jan. 08, 2025 08:06 AM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least six soldiers and 34 Islamic extremists died in a clash in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state, the military said Wednesday. The rebels, riding on motorcycles and gun trucks, launched a surprise attack on the troops, who resisted and engaged them in a...

Explosive device kills 2 at a school near Nigeria's capital, police say

Jan. 06, 2025 18:48 PM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — An improvised explosive device detonated at a school on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital Monday, killing two people who were handling the bomb and injuring two others, police said. The IED was suspected to have been brought to the Tsangagyar Sani Uthman...