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Nigerian president Tinubu under pressure to avoid war with northern neighbor Niger

By Camille Malpat with Aminu Abubakar in Kano, Nigeria: Political leaders in Nigeria are urging President Bola Tinubu to reconsider a threatened military intervention against junta leaders in neighbouring Niger, ahead of a Sunday deadline to reinstate the country's...

Nigeria grapples with end of fuel subsidy

By Alexandre Martins Lopes: Nigerians are struggling with surging fuel prices after newly elected President Bola Tinubu declared an end to popular subsidies, a move analysts and experts said was long overdue. On his first day in office, Tinubu kept to his campaign...

Nigeria: Bandits raid six villages in north, kill 30 civilians

Armed men killed 30 people in weekend raids on six villages in Nigeria's north, a region regularly hit by criminal violence and clashes between communities, local police have said. The bloodshed is the latest outbreak of inter-communal violence which the country's...

Nigeria: ISWAP ambushes army unit, kills several soldiers

Several Nigerian soldiers died in an attack on a military convoy in the Lake Chad region by jihadist fighters aligned with the Islamic State group, security forces said Tuesday. The convoy was hit by militants from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP)...

Nigeria: Cash-strapped Boko Haram kidnaps herders for ransom

Boko Haram jihadists have kidnapped 30 ethnic Fulani herders near northeast Nigeria's Lake Chad, demanding ransom for their release, fishermen and the head of an anti-jihadist militia told AFP Tuesday. The militants in eight boats stormed the fishing and herding...

Nigeria: Seven killed in oil production facility in Niger Delta

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Posted On 9 July 2020

Abuja, July 8, 2020 – An explosion at an oil production facility in southern Nigeria has killed seven workers, the country’s state-run oil group said on Wednesday. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said the blast happened during operations at the Gbetiokun OML 40 production platform in the Niger Delta region of the West African country.

“The incident, which occurred on Tuesday during the installation of a ladder on a platform… unfortunately caused seven fatalities,” the NNPC said in a statement. The company said other workers on the facility have been accounted for, and an investigation has been launched into the incident. The NNPC said the victims were employees of a firm engaged for the job.

Although Tuesday’s incident was due to an operational factor, pipeline and tanker truck explosions are common in Nigeria, where most people live in poverty even though the country is the biggest oil producer on the continent, with around two million barrels per day. Some incidents happen when residents try to siphon off oil or petrol from pipelines or when tanker drivers have accidents on the country’s ill-maintained roads. In March, a gas explosion in the commercial capital Lagos killed at least 15 people, injured many more and destroyed around 50 buildings.

AFP

Nigerian army drone hits village in Kaduna State, kills civilians

By Aminu Abubakar with Laurie Churchman in Abuja: An army drone strike accidentally hit a village in northwestern Nigeria killing dozens of civilians celebrating a Muslim festival, local authorities, the military and residents said on Monday. Nigeria's armed forces...

Nigeria’s election runner-up, Atiku Abubakar, files appeal over election challenge

The runner-up in Nigeria's presidential election in February on Tuesday filed an appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling rejecting a challenge to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's election victory. Opposition parties had claimed various irregularities, from...