Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — At least 51 civilians have been killed in Nigeria’s unrest following days of peaceful protests over police abuses, the president said Friday, blaming “hooliganism” for the violence while asserting that security forces have used “extreme restraint.”

President Muhammadu Buhari’s comments are expected to further inflame tensions in Africa’s most populous country after Amnesty International reported that soldiers shot and killed at least 12 demonstrators Tuesday night as a large crowd sang the national anthem. The deaths sparked international condemnation.

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday that Nigeria’s security forces fired upon two large gatherings of peaceful protesters Tuesday night, killing 12 people calling for an end to police brutality.

At least 56 people have died during two weeks of widespread demonstrations against police violence, including 38 on Tuesday, the group said. The Nigerian government did not immediately comment about Amnesty International’s allegations.

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerians protesting against police brutality stayed on the streets in Lagos on Wednesday, breaking the government curfew following a night of chaotic violence in which demonstrators were fired upon, sparking global outrage.

Shots were fired Wednesday as young demonstrators set up barricades by the Lekki toll plaza in Lagos, where protesters had been fired upon Tuesday night, causing numerous injuries although officials said no deaths.

ABUJA, Oct 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — A total of 16 doctors have been killed so far while battling the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, said a medical association leader.

Baba Issa, chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in the western state of Kwara, told reporters the figure was confirmed across the 36 states of the country since the pandemic broke out eight months ago.

Over the past eight months, Issa said that 1,031 doctors had been exposed to the virus in Nigeria, and 321 had contracted the disease.

LAGOS (Reuters) - The head of Nigeria’s police dissolved its Special Anti-Robbery Squad with immediate effect on Sunday, according to a police statement.

The move comes in the wake of widespread protests and a globally-trending social media campaign to end the group, known as SARS.

ABUJA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian military on Sunday confirmed that 13 suspected Boko Haram militants surrendered to troops during an operation aimed at smoking out remnants of the terror group in the country's northeast region.

The terrorists surrendered as troops on Saturday "sustained aerial bombardment and aggressive intensive clearance operation" in the Bama area of the northern state of Borno, John Enenche, the military spokesman, said in a statement.

LAGOS(Reuters) - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has signed a long-awaited oil-reform bill and it will be formally presented in the Senate as early as next week, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The legislation has been in the works for the past 20 years, and the main laws governing Nigeria’s oil and gas exploration have not been fully updated since the 1960s because of the contentious nature of any change to oil taxes, terms and revenue-sharing within Nigeria.

MAIDUGURI (Nigeria), Aug 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Not less than 23,000 persons, mostly children were reported missing in eight years in Nigeria, a new report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has stated.

According to the report, which was released to mark the annual International Day for the Disappeared (Aug 30), coronavirus pandemic hindered the search and reunification of missing persons as large gatherings of persons were discouraged.

LAGOS, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- A UN official based in Nigeria has called on the international community to help Nigeria avert a major humanitarian crisis in the restive northeastern part of the country, as the number of people in need of lifesaving aid has risen steeply.

LAGOS, July 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Gunmen killed 14 villagers in central Nigeria’s Kogi state on Wednesday, police said, blaming the attack on communal violence.

The night-time attack on Agbudu village in Koton-Karfe area also left six people seriously injured, said state police commissioner Ede Ayuba in a statement.

“I was there and I was part of those who picked up some of the dead bodies we are talking about,” he said.

He said 13 of the dead were members of the same family.