Latest Nigeria government News

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...

Burkina Faso’s junta suspends Voice of America broadcasts over coverage of militant violence

Oct. 08, 2024 10:46 AM EDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Burkina Faso’s military junta has suspended Voice of America's broadcasts for three months over its coverage of militant attacks in the country and in neighboring Mali, the state news agency reported, in the latest measure targeting media freedom in the country. ...

Nigeria’s independence anniversary is marked by protests and frustration over economic hardship

Oct. 01, 2024 17:45 PM EDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerians on Tuesday staged protests against economic hardship as the West African nation marked its 64th independence anniversary with its president calling for patience. Police fired tear gas to disperse some of the protesters, resulting in clashes. Dozens...

'Water is flooding everywhere' as torrential rains sweep through West and Central Africa

Sep. 20, 2024 07:16 AM EDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Houses swept away to the very last brick. Inmates frantically fleeing the city's main prison as its walls got washed away by water rising from an overflowing dam. Corpses of crocodiles and snakes floating among human bodies on what used to be main streets. As...

Nigeria warns of possible flooding as Cameroon releases water from dam

Sep. 18, 2024 23:14 PM EDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's government warned of possible flooding in 11 states following the release of water from a dam in neighboring Cameroon. The Nigerian hydrological agency said on Wednesday that water would be released from the Lagdo dam gradually and could cause...

Fortified bouillon cubes are seen as a way to curb malnutrition in Africa as climate worsens hunger

Sep. 17, 2024 15:36 PM EDT

IBADAN, Nigeria (AP) — In her cramped, dimly lit kitchen, Idowu Bello leans over a gas cooker while stirring a pot of eba, the thick starchy West African staple made from cassava root. Kidney problems and chronic exhaustion forced the 56-year-old Nigerian woman to retire from teaching, and she...

281 inmates escape after floods brought down prison's walls in northeast Nigeria

Sep. 16, 2024 08:51 AM EDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian authorities said 281 inmates escaped after devastating floods brought down a prison’s walls in the country's northeast. A major dam collapsed on Sept. 10, unleashing severe flooding that left 30 people dead and over a million displaced, and prompted...

Flooding in northeastern Nigeria has left 30 people dead and over a million displaced

Sep. 11, 2024 17:41 PM EDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Severe flooding in northeastern Nigeria has left 30 people dead and affected more than a million others, authorities said on Wednesday. The collapse of a major dam in the state of Borno on Tuesday caused some of the state’s worst flooding since the same dam...

Floods in Nigeria have killed scores and washed away farmland, raising food security concerns

Aug. 31, 2024 05:21 AM EDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Weeks of flooding have killed nearly 200 people in Nigeria and washed away homes and farmlands, the country's disaster management agency said, further threatening food supplies, especially in the hard-hit northern region. The floods blamed on poor...

How do you deal with stress? In Nigeria, swinging a sledgehammer in a 'rage room' helps

Aug. 25, 2024 00:34 AM EDT

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — How do you deal with stress? In Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, people are finding their reset button in a “rage room” where they pay to smash electronics and furniture with a sledgehammer as a break from the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. ...