Nigeria

ABUJA, Aug 25 (NNN-NAN) — The Nigerian Federal Government promised to address housing deficit by delivering one million houses per year to close the 17 million shortfall by the year 2033.

The Minister of State, Works and Housing, Abubakar Aliyu, disclosed this in Abuja on Saturday during an inspection of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) mass housing project in Zuba, Federal Capital Territory.

Aliyu said the government had decided to improve on current construction of 100,000 houses per years in order to meet the basic needs of the people.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Suspected Boko Haram extremists killed more than 60 people in an attack on villagers leaving a funeral in northeastern Nigeria, a local official said Sunday. It was the deadliest extremist attack against civilians in the region this year.

Muhammad Bulama, council chairman of the Nganzai local government area, told reporters that 11 other people were wounded during the attack at midday Saturday.

He called it a reprisal after villagers and civilian self-defense forces fought off a Boko Haram ambush in the area two weeks ago, killing 11 extremists.

ABUJA, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Police authorities in Nigeria said 40 protesters were nabbed on Tuesday after an invasion of the national parliament by members of the Islamic Movement, also known as the Shi'ites Movement.

A march for the release of the detained leader of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife turned violent when hundreds of protesters invaded the parliament in the capital, Abuja.

LAGOS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 terrorists were killed following a joint operation by forces from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, a Nigerian military spokesperson confirmed on Monday.

Timothy Antigha, a Nigerian army officer who is also the chief spokesman for the multinational forces, said in a statement reaching Xinhua that the terrorists were killed by troops operating around Arege, Malkonory and Tumbum Rego general area.

He said the operation was part of the ongoing offensive operations to clear Islamic State (IS) terrorists from the Lake Chad Area.

Abuja, May 23 (PTI) An Indian national is among 18 sailors arrested in Nigeria for allegedly attempting to illegally export stolen crude oil to Ghana, according to media reports.

The arrested sailors were planning to move stolen crude oil from Nigeria with two foreign vessels, MT Apecus and MT Invictus, believed to be owned by Petrogress Incorporation, which has offices in Nigeria, Greece and the US, the Nigerian Navy said.

15 May 2019; DW: Nigerian middle and upper classes increasingly speak English with their children. Linguists and writers worry about the survival of native languages, especially in the south.

ABUJA, May 7 (Xinhua): Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday at his office held a closed-door meeting with the visiting President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Maria Espinosa.

Espinosa, president of the 73rd session of UNGA, is in the West African country on a two-day working visit.

A presidency source told Xinhua that the agenda of the bilateral meeting included issues bordering on insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin, development and environmental protection, among others.

ABUJA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government on Sunday suspended all forms of mining activities in Zamfara, a northwestern state of the country.

The government also ordered all foreigners engaged in mining activities to leave the area within 48 hours, acting Inspector General of Police Muhammed Adamu told reporters in the capital of Abuja.

The order was part of measures to check banditry in the state, the police chief said.

WARRI, Nigeria (AP) — More than 50 people are missing after a leaking oil pipeline exploded and caused a stampede in southern Nigeria, a local official said Saturday.

The blast early Friday caused massive oil spillage in the Nembe kingdom in Bayelsa state, the Nembe Chiefs Council spokesman, Chief Nengi James-Eriworio, told The Associated Press.

The Nembe trunk line is operated by the Port Harcourt-based Aiteo Group and carries crude to the Bonny export terminal. Aiteo had yet to comment on the explosion. It was not immediately clear if the pipeline had been shut down.

ABUJA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's electoral body on early Wednesday declared incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari the winner of the country's presidential election.

Buhari, the candidate of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party, topped the poll with 15,191,847, or 55.6 percent of the total 27,324,583 valid votes in presidential election held on Saturday, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mahmood Yakubu announced.