Due to an unreliable power grid, many companies rely on alternative energy sources to keep their factories running. However, rising fuel and gas prices are further increasing operating costs and squeezing profitability. Some businesses have been forced to scale down production or suspend operations altogether.
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Video - Nigerian manufacturers struggle with rising electricity costs
Due to an unreliable power grid, many companies rely on alternative energy sources to keep their factories running. However, rising fuel and gas prices are further increasing operating costs and squeezing profitability. Some businesses have been forced to scale down production or suspend operations altogether.
Nigeria housing crisis looming as cement prices hit NGN15,000
The Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) has warned of a looming housing crisis as soaring cement prices threaten national homeownership.
According to REDAN President Oba Akintoye Adeoye, a 50kg bag of cement has surged from NGN7500 (US$5.49) in late 2025 to between NGN11,500 (US$8.41) and NGN15,000 (US$10.97). This rapid spike is heavily disrupting construction projects and intensifying financial strain on developers already battling inflation and exchange-rate volatility.
According to REDAN President Oba Akintoye Adeoye, a 50kg bag of cement has surged from NGN7500 (US$5.49) in late 2025 to between NGN11,500 (US$8.41) and NGN15,000 (US$10.97). This rapid spike is heavily disrupting construction projects and intensifying financial strain on developers already battling inflation and exchange-rate volatility.
Because cement dictates overall construction costs, these current prices make housing delivery unsustainable.
REDAN is urgently calling for Federal Government intervention to stabilise the building materials value chain and protect ongoing developments.
REDAN is urgently calling for Federal Government intervention to stabilise the building materials value chain and protect ongoing developments.
Related story: Video - Nigeria housing crisis worsens amid rising costs
Religious divide in Nigeria worsens conflict during drought
Across the Sahel region, where many Fulani herders have historically lived, rising temperatures, drought and desertification have reduced grazing land. Now, pastoralists are increasingly driving their stock beyond traditional ranges and coming into conflict with sedentary farming communities.
The WZB Berlin Social Science Center has drawn on over two decades of data from across Nigeria to examine links between drought patterns, conflict incidents, and the religious composition of local communities.
Sociology professor Ruud Koopmans, who co-authored the study, said the data challenged the perception that climate change was the main driver of violence. Instead, he pointed to religious divisions as the decisive factor.
By Okeri Ngutjinazo, DW
The WZB Berlin Social Science Center has drawn on over two decades of data from across Nigeria to examine links between drought patterns, conflict incidents, and the religious composition of local communities.
Sociology professor Ruud Koopmans, who co-authored the study, said the data challenged the perception that climate change was the main driver of violence. Instead, he pointed to religious divisions as the decisive factor.
Religion influences violent conflict in Sahel
"Where these Muslim pastoralists meet farmers, who are in majority Christian, that is where we have the largest number of violent confrontations," says Koopmans, who is based at Berlin's Humboldt University.
He added: "Where there is this religious divide, the conflict is further exacerbated by droughts."
The Fulani are a primarily Muslim-cattle owning people that have historically lived across what is now Nigeria, Niger, Mali, and other West African nations. Many in Nigeria have adopted the Hausa language, and used to be far more nomadic than today. Depletion of cattle herds has led some Fulani to become sedentary.
In the past, Fulani herders and farming communities have suffered killings and property destruction during clashes.
Researchers used a survey in Kaduna State, north-western Nigeria, to establish that Christian respondents were more likely to attribute conflict over grazing lands to religious causes, and harbor greater distrust of Muslim Fulani. Meanwhile, Muslim respondents were more likely to cite droughts and competition for resources as the cause for conflict.
The researchers say similar dynamics could apply beyond Nigeria, including in parts of the Sahel where climate stress and social divisions overlap.
In their report, the researchers call for policies to address water and land management, but also for early warning systems and community-based conflict mediation in religiously mixed regions. Such measures,they suggest, could help to prevent environmental pressures from turning into violent conflict.
"Where these Muslim pastoralists meet farmers, who are in majority Christian, that is where we have the largest number of violent confrontations," says Koopmans, who is based at Berlin's Humboldt University.
He added: "Where there is this religious divide, the conflict is further exacerbated by droughts."
The Fulani are a primarily Muslim-cattle owning people that have historically lived across what is now Nigeria, Niger, Mali, and other West African nations. Many in Nigeria have adopted the Hausa language, and used to be far more nomadic than today. Depletion of cattle herds has led some Fulani to become sedentary.
In the past, Fulani herders and farming communities have suffered killings and property destruction during clashes.
Researchers used a survey in Kaduna State, north-western Nigeria, to establish that Christian respondents were more likely to attribute conflict over grazing lands to religious causes, and harbor greater distrust of Muslim Fulani. Meanwhile, Muslim respondents were more likely to cite droughts and competition for resources as the cause for conflict.
The researchers say similar dynamics could apply beyond Nigeria, including in parts of the Sahel where climate stress and social divisions overlap.
In their report, the researchers call for policies to address water and land management, but also for early warning systems and community-based conflict mediation in religiously mixed regions. Such measures,they suggest, could help to prevent environmental pressures from turning into violent conflict.
Religious tensions in northern Nigeria
According to Koopmans, religious tensions have intensified since the late 1990s. He cited the introduction of Sharia law in parts of northern Nigeria, resistance in regions such as Nigeria's Middle Belt, and the rise of the jihadist group Boko Haram as factors that had deepened mistrust between communities.
These developments, he argued, had also revived older historical fears, particularly among Christian communities.
Clashes were more likely in the Middle Belt,where Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities interacted, he said. Conflict is less likely in northern regions where pastoralists and sedentary communities are mostly Muslim.
According to the WZB study, shared religious identity can help limit escalation, with conflicting parties able to appeal to religious authorities respected by both sides, making dispute resolution more likely and reducing the risk of violence.
"When both nomads and farmers are Muslim, they are also more likely to respect common religious norms concerning property and the use of violence. There is a clear spiritual disbenefit associated with harming people who share the same faith," the study said.
According to Koopmans, religious tensions have intensified since the late 1990s. He cited the introduction of Sharia law in parts of northern Nigeria, resistance in regions such as Nigeria's Middle Belt, and the rise of the jihadist group Boko Haram as factors that had deepened mistrust between communities.
These developments, he argued, had also revived older historical fears, particularly among Christian communities.
Clashes were more likely in the Middle Belt,where Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farming communities interacted, he said. Conflict is less likely in northern regions where pastoralists and sedentary communities are mostly Muslim.
According to the WZB study, shared religious identity can help limit escalation, with conflicting parties able to appeal to religious authorities respected by both sides, making dispute resolution more likely and reducing the risk of violence.
"When both nomads and farmers are Muslim, they are also more likely to respect common religious norms concerning property and the use of violence. There is a clear spiritual disbenefit associated with harming people who share the same faith," the study said.
Fulani militancy driving religious violence
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has identified armed Fulani groups as being among the most prominent non-state actors behind religious violence in Nigeria. It says an "estimated 30,000 Fulani militants" likely operate across Nigeria.
"While these militants do not share a centralized leadership, some collaborate on attacks," said the USCIRF, which added that violence linked to Fulani militants had caused more deaths among religious communities over the past year than attacks by insurgent groups or criminal gangs.
While many attacks have focused on Christian communities, particularly in the Middle Belt and increasingly in southern Nigeria, Muslim communities have also faced raids, killings and kidnappings.
The violence has contributed to mass displacement, with at least 1.3 million people in the Middle Belt forced into overcrowded and insecure camps. Kidnappings for ransom have also become a major tactic, with religious institutions often targeted.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has identified armed Fulani groups as being among the most prominent non-state actors behind religious violence in Nigeria. It says an "estimated 30,000 Fulani militants" likely operate across Nigeria.
"While these militants do not share a centralized leadership, some collaborate on attacks," said the USCIRF, which added that violence linked to Fulani militants had caused more deaths among religious communities over the past year than attacks by insurgent groups or criminal gangs.
While many attacks have focused on Christian communities, particularly in the Middle Belt and increasingly in southern Nigeria, Muslim communities have also faced raids, killings and kidnappings.
The violence has contributed to mass displacement, with at least 1.3 million people in the Middle Belt forced into overcrowded and insecure camps. Kidnappings for ransom have also become a major tactic, with religious institutions often targeted.
Calls for stronger security coordination in Nigeria
The legal expert and founder of the Abuja-based House of Justice, Gloria Mabeiam Ballason, said the scale of the threat was difficult to independently verify due to a lack of verifiable information presented by Nigerian authorities.
She said this risked undermining public confidence and warned that conflicting messaging could fuel uncertainty and fear.
"These threats are real. It would help for the government to have a clear program and strategy around ensuring that the next set of recruits into terrorism are stopped," she told DW.
Wilson Inalegwu, a retired assistant inspector general of police, said that immediate efforts must combine force with better planning and coordination. He warned that attacks often spread across neighboring Nigerian states because authorities failed to anticipate patterns.
"Those in Kwara were not prepared. They thought it was a Niger problem. You go to Kwara State, those in Oyo State thought it was a Kwara problem. Now it is in Oyo. So, we must have a kind of very robust patrols along these areas," he told DW.
The legal expert and founder of the Abuja-based House of Justice, Gloria Mabeiam Ballason, said the scale of the threat was difficult to independently verify due to a lack of verifiable information presented by Nigerian authorities.
She said this risked undermining public confidence and warned that conflicting messaging could fuel uncertainty and fear.
"These threats are real. It would help for the government to have a clear program and strategy around ensuring that the next set of recruits into terrorism are stopped," she told DW.
Wilson Inalegwu, a retired assistant inspector general of police, said that immediate efforts must combine force with better planning and coordination. He warned that attacks often spread across neighboring Nigerian states because authorities failed to anticipate patterns.
"Those in Kwara were not prepared. They thought it was a Niger problem. You go to Kwara State, those in Oyo State thought it was a Kwara problem. Now it is in Oyo. So, we must have a kind of very robust patrols along these areas," he told DW.
Video - Teachers protest schoolchildren kidnappings in Nigeria
Teachers protest schoolchildren kidnappings in Nigeria Teachers in major Nigerian cities Tuesday protested a string of kidnappings and attacks targeting schools by armed groups.
Related story: Video - Gunmen abduct students in Nigeria’s Oyo State
How large scale meth production in Nigeria poses new security risks
Nigeria’s long-standing reputation as a transit hub for international narcotics is undergoing a dark evolution. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) recent bust of an industrial-scale methamphetamine super-lab deep inside the Abidagba Forest marks a critical turning point: Nigeria is no longer just moving drugs—it is manufacturing them on a massive scale.
The raid yielded a staggering $363 million in seized narcotics and precursor chemicals, alongside the arrest of ten suspects, including three Mexican nationals.
The Tactical Shift to Ungoverned Spaces Between 2011 and 2016, the NDLEA dismantled at least 11 meth labs, but those were invariably tucked away in urban and peri-urban neighborhoods. The Abidagba Forest discovery represents a calculated geographic pivot by criminal syndicates into remote, poorly governed spaces. By retreating into southwestern forests, cartels are actively adapting to escape state surveillance, utilizing unmonitored border corridors to move product undetected.
A Troubling Convergence: Drugs and Terror This geographic shift places industrial drug production dangerously close to rising regional insecurity. The meth lab bust in the southwest coincided with the high-profile abduction of 46 students and teachers in neighboring Oyo State. While proximity doesn't automatically equal collaboration, historical data from West Africa shows that drug syndicates and militant groups frequently form partnerships of convenience—trading cash for logistics, funding, and protection.
The Transatlantic Footprint The presence of Mexican operatives points to a deeply worrying trend: the active transfer of specialized chemical expertise from Latin American cartels, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, to local networks. This signals that international syndicates may be looking to consolidate West Africa as a primary manufacturing node rather than a mere pitstop.
An Urgent Security Imperative While the NDLEA’s bust is a major victory, it exposes massive vulnerabilities in Nigeria's border control and domestic security. Moving forward, reversing this trajectory will require:
Immigration Audits: Investigating how foreign cartel operatives entered the country and identifying local collaborators.
Tech-Driven Surveillance: Deploying drones and geospatial monitoring to track unusual developments in dense forested zones.
Community Intelligence: Partnering with local farmers, hunters, and traditional leaders who possess vital boots-on-the-ground awareness.
Without swift, inter-agency action, Nigeria risks cementing its position as a strategic hub in the global illicit drug economy—a development that would severely destabilize regional security.
Related story: Massive Drug Bust: Nigeria Smashes Meth Cartel and Captures Kingpin
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