Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Video - School in Nigeria teaches martial arts to help keep students safe
In Nigeria, the United Nations' Children's Fund, UNICEF, says sexual violence against children is on the rise across the 36 states. A survey carried out in the country shows that 1 in every 4 girls and 1 in every 7 boys is molested, before the age of 18. And it mainly happens in schools. In response, one school in the capital, Abuja, has started an active initiative to prevent sexual molestation and violence against children.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Video - Army launches new operation to prevent Boko Haram attacks
For the past few weeks, Boko Haram has been staging bold attacks on military installations and killing scores in suicide attacks. Nigeria's military says it will soon launch a new operation to prevent further attacks by the insurgents.
Video - Boko Haram hamper learning in North eastern Nigeria
Nigeria's government says more than 1,500 primary schools in the North have been destroyed by Boko Haram since 2014. The group continues to target schools as part of their campaign against western education.
1,000 hostages rescued from Boko Haram in Nigeria
Nigeria's military says it has rescued more than 1,000 people held captive in northeastern Nigeria by the armed group Boko Haram.
Brigadier General Texas Chukwu, army spokesman, announced on Monday evening that the hostages were rescued from four villages in Borno State.
The Multinational Joint Task Force, which comprises Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, helped to secure the release of the captives, mostly women and children.
Some men who had been forced to become Boko Haram fighters were among those rescued, the army said.
Boko Haram has been held responsible for thousands of abductions, especially of young girls and women, during its nine-year armed campaign in Nigeria and surrounding countries.
The group gained international notoriety after its fighters kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in April 2014. About 100 girls are still missing.
More than 20,000 people have been killed in the fighting, which has also forced some two million to flee their homes.
Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, reporting from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, explained that the rescued individuals will be taken to hospitals to be treated for wounds and ailments sustained in captivity.
"They will be profiled and de-briefed by security forces before they are rehabilitated and eventually returned to society," Idris said.
"For those who carried arms before, fighting the Nigerian state, they will have to undergo another rehabilitation process being conducted by the Nigerian government in another state ... as part of an operation called Operation Safe Corridor."
Leaders from the countries comprising the Multinational Joint Task Force will be meeting on Tuesday in Maiduguri to discuss the long-term strategy on how to deal with the Boko Haram crisis.
In March, a Boko Haram attack on the northeastern town of Rann left at least two aid workers, a doctor and eight soldiers dead.
In February, the group's fighters attacked another school in the northeastern state of Yobe and seized more than 110 schoolgirls. A month later, the government said 101 had been freed.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said earlier this year that the era of Boko Haram violence "is gradually drawing to end".
However, the group continues to launch attacks in the country's northeast.
Brigadier General Texas Chukwu, army spokesman, announced on Monday evening that the hostages were rescued from four villages in Borno State.
The Multinational Joint Task Force, which comprises Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, helped to secure the release of the captives, mostly women and children.
Some men who had been forced to become Boko Haram fighters were among those rescued, the army said.
Boko Haram has been held responsible for thousands of abductions, especially of young girls and women, during its nine-year armed campaign in Nigeria and surrounding countries.
The group gained international notoriety after its fighters kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in April 2014. About 100 girls are still missing.
More than 20,000 people have been killed in the fighting, which has also forced some two million to flee their homes.
Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, reporting from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, explained that the rescued individuals will be taken to hospitals to be treated for wounds and ailments sustained in captivity.
"They will be profiled and de-briefed by security forces before they are rehabilitated and eventually returned to society," Idris said.
"For those who carried arms before, fighting the Nigerian state, they will have to undergo another rehabilitation process being conducted by the Nigerian government in another state ... as part of an operation called Operation Safe Corridor."
Leaders from the countries comprising the Multinational Joint Task Force will be meeting on Tuesday in Maiduguri to discuss the long-term strategy on how to deal with the Boko Haram crisis.
In March, a Boko Haram attack on the northeastern town of Rann left at least two aid workers, a doctor and eight soldiers dead.
In February, the group's fighters attacked another school in the northeastern state of Yobe and seized more than 110 schoolgirls. A month later, the government said 101 had been freed.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said earlier this year that the era of Boko Haram violence "is gradually drawing to end".
However, the group continues to launch attacks in the country's northeast.
Monday, May 7, 2018
Video - Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria blamed for attack on church
Disputes over territory are escalating elsewhere in Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari's government is under pressure to prevent such attacks, ahead of elections next year. Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan reports from Benue state, where an attack on a church is dividing a community that has lived peacefully for generations.
Raid on village in Nigeria leaves 45 dead
At least 45 people were killed after armed bandits attacked a village in northern Nigeria, officials said Sunday, the latest in a series of attacks in the country’s rural areas.
Fighting between militiamen and the bandits erupted after the raid on the village of Gwaska, in northwestern Kaduna state, on Saturday, according to Agence France-Press.
“There was violence between the militias, who are very powerful, and bandits,” said Kaduna’s state police chief, Austin Iwar.
An unnamed vigilante told AFP that he believed the bandits to be from neighboring Zamfara state. “The 45 bodies were found scattered in the bush. The bandits pursued residents who mobilized to defend the village after overpowering them,” he said, adding that children were among those killed. “They burnt down many homes,” he said.
Thirteen people were killed last week in Zamfara in fighting between cattle thieves and local civilian militia. Cattle rustlers and kidnapping gangs have long plagued rural herding communities in the state with killings, robberies, and arson.
Nigeria’s security forces are stretched thin as the country tackles Boko Haram jihadists in the north and pirates in the south. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been criticized for his failure to quell the violence, which will be a key issue in the 2019 presidential elections.
Fighting between militiamen and the bandits erupted after the raid on the village of Gwaska, in northwestern Kaduna state, on Saturday, according to Agence France-Press.
“There was violence between the militias, who are very powerful, and bandits,” said Kaduna’s state police chief, Austin Iwar.
An unnamed vigilante told AFP that he believed the bandits to be from neighboring Zamfara state. “The 45 bodies were found scattered in the bush. The bandits pursued residents who mobilized to defend the village after overpowering them,” he said, adding that children were among those killed. “They burnt down many homes,” he said.
Thirteen people were killed last week in Zamfara in fighting between cattle thieves and local civilian militia. Cattle rustlers and kidnapping gangs have long plagued rural herding communities in the state with killings, robberies, and arson.
Nigeria’s security forces are stretched thin as the country tackles Boko Haram jihadists in the north and pirates in the south. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been criticized for his failure to quell the violence, which will be a key issue in the 2019 presidential elections.
Friday, May 4, 2018
Canada working with U.S. in Nigeria to reduce issuing visas for asylum seekers
Canada has officials working with U.S. visa officers in Lagos, Nigeria, as Ottawa leans on its neighbor to stop issuing so many visas to Nigerians who then make refugee claims in Canada.
The Canadian government is trying to stem the flow of asylum seekers illegally walking across the U.S. border even as their ranks grow: About 2,500 asylum seekers crossed into Canada to file refugee claims in April, according to estimates from the federal immigration and refugee department — the highest level since August and almost triple last April’s figure.
More than 26,000 people illegally crossed the Canada-U.S. border in the past 15 months to file refugee claims.
The Canadian government says many of the more recent arrivals are Nigerians who arrived bearing valid U.S. visas after having spent very little time in the United States.
“It is apparent that they obtained those visas with the express intent to actually go to Canada. ... We’ve been sharing that information with the United States with the view of preventing the abuse of U.S. visas,” a Canadian immigration department spokeswoman told Reuters in an email.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers faced pointed questions this week after Reuters reported that Canada wants U.S. help turning back thousands of asylum seekers.
A Canadian official familiar with the matter told Reuters that Canada wants to amend a bilateral agreement to allow it to block border-crossing refugee claimants.
Canada has asked for this change “at least a dozen” times since September, the official said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said it is reviewing Canada’s proposal but has not made a decision.
Two Canadian officials have been sent to Lagos to work directly with their counterparts in the U.S. visa office, a spokeswoman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in an email on Wednesday.
The officials are “meeting regularly to exchange information on migration movements” with the aim of lowering the number of people who go through the United States to Canada using a U.S. visa.
Since June, Canadian police have intercepted more than 7,600 Nigerian asylum seekers, 81 percent of whom had a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa, the spokeswoman added.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department wrote that “consular officers in the field often coordinate with our close partners from other countries to discuss matters of shared concern.” She did not elaborate on the role the Canadian officials are playing.
Trudeau’s government is under pressure to appear in control of the country’s border and refugee system while obeying Canadian law and maintaining its image as compassionate and welcoming of newcomers.
The Canadian government is trying to stem the flow of asylum seekers illegally walking across the U.S. border even as their ranks grow: About 2,500 asylum seekers crossed into Canada to file refugee claims in April, according to estimates from the federal immigration and refugee department — the highest level since August and almost triple last April’s figure.
More than 26,000 people illegally crossed the Canada-U.S. border in the past 15 months to file refugee claims.
The Canadian government says many of the more recent arrivals are Nigerians who arrived bearing valid U.S. visas after having spent very little time in the United States.
“It is apparent that they obtained those visas with the express intent to actually go to Canada. ... We’ve been sharing that information with the United States with the view of preventing the abuse of U.S. visas,” a Canadian immigration department spokeswoman told Reuters in an email.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers faced pointed questions this week after Reuters reported that Canada wants U.S. help turning back thousands of asylum seekers.
A Canadian official familiar with the matter told Reuters that Canada wants to amend a bilateral agreement to allow it to block border-crossing refugee claimants.
Canada has asked for this change “at least a dozen” times since September, the official said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said it is reviewing Canada’s proposal but has not made a decision.
Two Canadian officials have been sent to Lagos to work directly with their counterparts in the U.S. visa office, a spokeswoman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in an email on Wednesday.
The officials are “meeting regularly to exchange information on migration movements” with the aim of lowering the number of people who go through the United States to Canada using a U.S. visa.
Since June, Canadian police have intercepted more than 7,600 Nigerian asylum seekers, 81 percent of whom had a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa, the spokeswoman added.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department wrote that “consular officers in the field often coordinate with our close partners from other countries to discuss matters of shared concern.” She did not elaborate on the role the Canadian officials are playing.
Trudeau’s government is under pressure to appear in control of the country’s border and refugee system while obeying Canadian law and maintaining its image as compassionate and welcoming of newcomers.
Nigerian internet scammers targeting corporate email accounts
West Africa’s infamous internet scammers have evolved, dropping their impersonations of online love interests, princes and U.S. soldiers in favor of hijacking corporate emails, costing businesses hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
It is a much more lucrative venture that works by gaining access to corporate email login details or passing off almost-identical addresses as the real deal, a scam known as Business Email Compromise (BEC), according to a report by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike issued on Thursday.
These Nigerian rackets now dwarf other types of online criminal theft, amounting to at least $5.3 billion of losses between October 2013 and the end of 2016, said CrowdStrike and the U.S. FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
“There’s a disproportionate amount of criminal gains they get from it,” Adam Meyers, vice president of intelligence at California-based CrowdStrike, told Reuters. “The lion’s share of ill-gotten, fraudulent money is around these business email compromise attacks. It’s a huge problem for our customer set.”
Nigeria has become one of the hubs of BEC. Nigerian online fraudsters, known as “Yahoo boys”, became notorious for trying to pass themselves off as people in financial need or Nigerian princes offering an outstanding return on an investment.
The capers became known as “419 scams” after the section of the national penal code that dealt - ineffectively - with fraud.
Yahoo boys even impersonated a U.S. forces commander in Afghanistan to defraud people by asking for help in recovering the assets of deceased soldiers. It forced the commander to issue a Facebook statement saying he would never try to contact anyone asking for financial help.
Now the scammers have bigger fish to fry, with the potential gains amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, according to CrowdStrike.
Behind the fraudsters is an organized crime network with its hands in human trafficking, drugs, prostitution, money laundering and email fraud and cybercrime, the CrowdStrike report said. “The magnitude of this criminal threat has only recently begun to be understood,” it said.
The Black Axe gang sprang from Nigerian universities and now extends from Africa to North America, Europe and Asia. Its targets have ranged from semiconductor makers to schools in U.S. states including Connecticut and Minnesota, passing themselves off as executives and lawyers to trick employees into wiring sometimes millions of dollars a day into bank accounts.
From there, the money is quickly laundered through a series of bank accounts that can be traced to Hong Kong and China, where the trail often goes cold because diverging regulations foil monitoring, CrowdStrike’s Meyers said.
With that money, the Nigerian scammers are often enjoying the high life, said Meyers, noting social media accounts filled with pictures of them posing with luxury Mercedes cars, gold watches, jewellery and champagne.
“It’s really hard to stop; you can’t stop it with anti-virus or any kind of software, it’s really kind of a human problem.”
It is a much more lucrative venture that works by gaining access to corporate email login details or passing off almost-identical addresses as the real deal, a scam known as Business Email Compromise (BEC), according to a report by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike issued on Thursday.
These Nigerian rackets now dwarf other types of online criminal theft, amounting to at least $5.3 billion of losses between October 2013 and the end of 2016, said CrowdStrike and the U.S. FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
“There’s a disproportionate amount of criminal gains they get from it,” Adam Meyers, vice president of intelligence at California-based CrowdStrike, told Reuters. “The lion’s share of ill-gotten, fraudulent money is around these business email compromise attacks. It’s a huge problem for our customer set.”
Nigeria has become one of the hubs of BEC. Nigerian online fraudsters, known as “Yahoo boys”, became notorious for trying to pass themselves off as people in financial need or Nigerian princes offering an outstanding return on an investment.
The capers became known as “419 scams” after the section of the national penal code that dealt - ineffectively - with fraud.
Yahoo boys even impersonated a U.S. forces commander in Afghanistan to defraud people by asking for help in recovering the assets of deceased soldiers. It forced the commander to issue a Facebook statement saying he would never try to contact anyone asking for financial help.
Now the scammers have bigger fish to fry, with the potential gains amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, according to CrowdStrike.
Behind the fraudsters is an organized crime network with its hands in human trafficking, drugs, prostitution, money laundering and email fraud and cybercrime, the CrowdStrike report said. “The magnitude of this criminal threat has only recently begun to be understood,” it said.
The Black Axe gang sprang from Nigerian universities and now extends from Africa to North America, Europe and Asia. Its targets have ranged from semiconductor makers to schools in U.S. states including Connecticut and Minnesota, passing themselves off as executives and lawyers to trick employees into wiring sometimes millions of dollars a day into bank accounts.
From there, the money is quickly laundered through a series of bank accounts that can be traced to Hong Kong and China, where the trail often goes cold because diverging regulations foil monitoring, CrowdStrike’s Meyers said.
With that money, the Nigerian scammers are often enjoying the high life, said Meyers, noting social media accounts filled with pictures of them posing with luxury Mercedes cars, gold watches, jewellery and champagne.
“It’s really hard to stop; you can’t stop it with anti-virus or any kind of software, it’s really kind of a human problem.”
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Video - Trump calls on Nigeria to remove trade barriers
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has become the first sub-Saharan African leader to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House. On the agenda was security, trade and the economy - but one infamous topic was not discussed.
Nigeria turns to renewable energy as population grows
Faced with a population boom that has sent carbon emissions soaring and stretched power supplies to breaking point, oil-rich Nigeria is turning to renewable energy in a big way.
Africa’s most populous country needs more than 10 times its current electricity output to guarantee supply for its 198 million people - nearly half of whom have no access at all, according to power minister Babatunde Fashola.
Campaigners welcome the shift to renewables as an efficient way to bring power to rural communities and help clean up a country with some of the world’s worst urban pollution rates.
“Ready access to electricity will reduce youth unemployment and increase productivity,” Ifeoma Malo, Nigeria country director at the global campaign group Power For All, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“It will contribute greatly to reducing the carbon footprint of a growing energy demand by the urban population.”
Nigeria has set a target of expanding electricity access to 75 percent of the population by 2020 and 90 percent by 2030.
It aims to generate 30 percent of its total energy from renewable sources by 2030, Fashola said in a recent speech in London, a major commitment for an economy that depends heavily on fossil fuels.
Oil and gas production account for around 35 percent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product and about 90 percent of total exports revenue, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Over the past year, the country has invested more than $20 billion in solar power projects, seeking to boost the capacity of the national grid and reduce reliance on it by building mini-grids in rural areas without mains electricity.
Just one in four people in rural Nigeria is connected to the national grid, adding to a trend of outward migration that is piling pressure on Nigeria’s already overburdened cities.
POWER CUTS
Power demand in Nigeria’s largest city Lagos vastly outstrips supply, meaning its 25 million residents must either go without, or rely on expensive, fume-belching generators.
In January the country suffered six power outages in just eight days as the national grid repeatedly collapsed under the strain, plunging most of the country into darkness.
Urbanization and rapid population growth will only add to the problem - Nigeria’s population is projected to swell from 198 to 411 million by 2050, and more and more people are moving to its cities.
By the start of 2020, demand for energy is forecast to be more than double its early 2018 levels.
Nigeria currently has the capacity to produce an estimated 7,000 megawatts (MW) of power, but due to weak infrastructure, gas supply problems and water shortages only about 4,000 MW reaches the national grid, according to Fashola.
The government is investing in hydropower, with several projects close to completion.
The largest is the Mambilla Power Station in central Nigeria, a $5.79 billion project due to be completed in 2024 with most of the financing coming from Chinese lenders.
It will be able to generate 3,050 MW of renewable energy in the rural region, and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
Given the country’s climate though, most of the focus is on generating solar power.
A $350 million World Bank loan will be used to build 10,000 solar-powered mini-grids by 2023 in rural areas, bringing power to hospitals, schools and households, said Damilola Ogunbiyi, managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency.
Africa’s most populous country needs more than 10 times its current electricity output to guarantee supply for its 198 million people - nearly half of whom have no access at all, according to power minister Babatunde Fashola.
Campaigners welcome the shift to renewables as an efficient way to bring power to rural communities and help clean up a country with some of the world’s worst urban pollution rates.
“Ready access to electricity will reduce youth unemployment and increase productivity,” Ifeoma Malo, Nigeria country director at the global campaign group Power For All, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“It will contribute greatly to reducing the carbon footprint of a growing energy demand by the urban population.”
Nigeria has set a target of expanding electricity access to 75 percent of the population by 2020 and 90 percent by 2030.
It aims to generate 30 percent of its total energy from renewable sources by 2030, Fashola said in a recent speech in London, a major commitment for an economy that depends heavily on fossil fuels.
Oil and gas production account for around 35 percent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product and about 90 percent of total exports revenue, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Over the past year, the country has invested more than $20 billion in solar power projects, seeking to boost the capacity of the national grid and reduce reliance on it by building mini-grids in rural areas without mains electricity.
Just one in four people in rural Nigeria is connected to the national grid, adding to a trend of outward migration that is piling pressure on Nigeria’s already overburdened cities.
POWER CUTS
Power demand in Nigeria’s largest city Lagos vastly outstrips supply, meaning its 25 million residents must either go without, or rely on expensive, fume-belching generators.
In January the country suffered six power outages in just eight days as the national grid repeatedly collapsed under the strain, plunging most of the country into darkness.
Urbanization and rapid population growth will only add to the problem - Nigeria’s population is projected to swell from 198 to 411 million by 2050, and more and more people are moving to its cities.
By the start of 2020, demand for energy is forecast to be more than double its early 2018 levels.
Nigeria currently has the capacity to produce an estimated 7,000 megawatts (MW) of power, but due to weak infrastructure, gas supply problems and water shortages only about 4,000 MW reaches the national grid, according to Fashola.
The government is investing in hydropower, with several projects close to completion.
The largest is the Mambilla Power Station in central Nigeria, a $5.79 billion project due to be completed in 2024 with most of the financing coming from Chinese lenders.
It will be able to generate 3,050 MW of renewable energy in the rural region, and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
Given the country’s climate though, most of the focus is on generating solar power.
A $350 million World Bank loan will be used to build 10,000 solar-powered mini-grids by 2023 in rural areas, bringing power to hospitals, schools and households, said Damilola Ogunbiyi, managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency.
RURAL AREAS
One of these projects, Sabon Gari, aims to generate between 1-4 MW of solar energy for 12,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria’s second largest city, Kano, by the end of the year.
The chief executive of the energy company behind the project, Rensource, said companies’ energy costs had fallen at least 30 percent since they started using the solar grids.
“Up until now, the entire market has been powered by a network of small-scale, dirty, unhealthy generators that are also quite expensive,” Ademola Adesina told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview.
“We are replacing those generators with a network of solar hybrid systems that are powering the entire market.”
Rensource hopes to expand to rural areas, where the World Bank estimates 80 million Nigerians live without electricity.
Power For All’s Malo said small-scale projects such as these offered the best chance of bringing power to remote areas.
“The Rural Electrification Agency realizes that the traditional, public-sector-led grid extension system will not meet the demands of the growing population,” he said.
One of these projects, Sabon Gari, aims to generate between 1-4 MW of solar energy for 12,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria’s second largest city, Kano, by the end of the year.
The chief executive of the energy company behind the project, Rensource, said companies’ energy costs had fallen at least 30 percent since they started using the solar grids.
“Up until now, the entire market has been powered by a network of small-scale, dirty, unhealthy generators that are also quite expensive,” Ademola Adesina told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview.
“We are replacing those generators with a network of solar hybrid systems that are powering the entire market.”
Rensource hopes to expand to rural areas, where the World Bank estimates 80 million Nigerians live without electricity.
Power For All’s Malo said small-scale projects such as these offered the best chance of bringing power to remote areas.
“The Rural Electrification Agency realizes that the traditional, public-sector-led grid extension system will not meet the demands of the growing population,” he said.
Nigeria Super Eagle and Arsenal player says Wenger exit sad and exciting
Iwobi told BBC Sport that Wenger has been the cornerstone of his career.
"It's sad for me. He has been inspirational," the 22-year-old said.
"He has done a lot for me in a short time in my career so it's a bit sad but it is also exciting times. We don't know who is going to come in, we are just waiting."
Wenger announced last month that he will leave Arsenal at the end of the season.
Iwobi was speaking ahead of his team's Europa League second leg semi-final tie against Atletico Madrid in Spain, on Thursday.
He said he and his teammates would like to give Wenger a fitting send-off by winning the cup.
"He deserves the right send-off so we should end the season as strong as we can for him," he added.
"What he wants is for us to finish the season strong and try and win the Europa League. That's the best present we can try and give him."
The Gunners and Atletico Madrid played a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Emirates.
The final of the Europa League will be played in Lyon on May 16.
Death toll in mosque attack in Nigeria rises to 86
Eighty-six people were killed in a double suicide bombing in northeast Nigeria, gravediggers said.
The death toll given on Wednesday was far higher than the 27 people police said had died.
The Adamawa police command told Al Jazeera an additional 58 people were wounded in Tuesday's attack in the town of Mubi, which has been blamed on Boko Haram.
A suicide bomber detonated explosives at a mosque during afternoon prayers. As worshippers fled, a second bomber exploded a device about 200 metres away.
Local gravediggers at the town's only cemetery said they buried 86 bodies.
"We buried 76 people yesterday [Tuesday]," one told AFP news agency, asking to remain anonymous.
At 3pm on Wednesday, 10 more bodies were brought in and buried, he added. "These people died overnight from injuries, obviously."
Another gravedigger, who also asked that his name not be used, supported the account. "We hope we are done with the burials," he said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the blasts bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, the armed group that has waged a deadly campaign of violence in Africa's most populous country since 2009, and often deploys suicide bombers in crowded places.
The last time so many people were killed in an attack blamed on Boko Haram was in January 2016, when at least 85 people lost their lives in Dalori, on the outskirts of Maiduguri.
Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajoon on Wednesday told security agencies to beef up security in Mubi and its surrounding areas, "especially markets and places of worship".
"This desecration of a place of worship by criminals is tragic and condemnable," he said in an emailed statement.
The death toll given on Wednesday was far higher than the 27 people police said had died.
The Adamawa police command told Al Jazeera an additional 58 people were wounded in Tuesday's attack in the town of Mubi, which has been blamed on Boko Haram.
A suicide bomber detonated explosives at a mosque during afternoon prayers. As worshippers fled, a second bomber exploded a device about 200 metres away.
Local gravediggers at the town's only cemetery said they buried 86 bodies.
"We buried 76 people yesterday [Tuesday]," one told AFP news agency, asking to remain anonymous.
At 3pm on Wednesday, 10 more bodies were brought in and buried, he added. "These people died overnight from injuries, obviously."
Another gravedigger, who also asked that his name not be used, supported the account. "We hope we are done with the burials," he said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the blasts bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, the armed group that has waged a deadly campaign of violence in Africa's most populous country since 2009, and often deploys suicide bombers in crowded places.
The last time so many people were killed in an attack blamed on Boko Haram was in January 2016, when at least 85 people lost their lives in Dalori, on the outskirts of Maiduguri.
Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajoon on Wednesday told security agencies to beef up security in Mubi and its surrounding areas, "especially markets and places of worship".
"This desecration of a place of worship by criminals is tragic and condemnable," he said in an emailed statement.
Boko Haram?
It was the second time in six months that dozens had been killed in an attack on a Mubi mosque.
Last November, a teenage suicide bomber attacked worshippers as they gathered for morning prayers, killing at least 50 people in one of the region's deadliest assaults in years.
Residents were still in shock after the deadly bombings on Tuesday.
"I think this is the worst attack Mubi has ever witnessed. The human loss is unimaginable," said resident Muhammad Hamidu.
More than 20,000 people have been killed in the Boko Haram insurgency that began in 2009, which has also forced some two million to flee their homes.
Boko Haram held territory in Adamawa state in 2014, but troops pushed the group out in early 2015 and Mubi was relatively peaceful until the November 2017 attack.
It was the second time in six months that dozens had been killed in an attack on a Mubi mosque.
Last November, a teenage suicide bomber attacked worshippers as they gathered for morning prayers, killing at least 50 people in one of the region's deadliest assaults in years.
Residents were still in shock after the deadly bombings on Tuesday.
"I think this is the worst attack Mubi has ever witnessed. The human loss is unimaginable," said resident Muhammad Hamidu.
More than 20,000 people have been killed in the Boko Haram insurgency that began in 2009, which has also forced some two million to flee their homes.
Boko Haram held territory in Adamawa state in 2014, but troops pushed the group out in early 2015 and Mubi was relatively peaceful until the November 2017 attack.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Video - Buhari and Trump vow to boost trade and fight terrorism
The United States and Nigeria share two top priorities: boosting trade and fighting terrorism. US Presidents Donald Trump and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari discussed both at the White House. Not on the agenda - derogatory language Trump reportedly used to describe African nations.
Nigeria bans codein cough syrup due to addictive properties
Nigeria has announced a ban on the production and import of cough syrup containing codeine after a BBC investigation into its role in an addiction epidemic.
A health ministry spokesman told the BBC remaining stocks in shops could be sold with a prescription.
The BBC investigation showed the syrup being sold on the black market to be used by young Nigerians to get high.
It recorded a number of pharmaceutical figures selling the drug illegally.
The joint probe by the BBC's new investigation unit, Africa Eye, and BBC Pidgin prompted a swift response from people across the country, including Nigeria's first lady, Aisha Buhari, who said in an Instagram post she was "deeply saddened"by the rise of the problem, especially in the north of Nigeria.
"I call on all security agencies, lawmakers, judiciary, drug manufacturers, civil society, regulators, teachers, parents, neighbours and you to take this as a personal war and halt the menace," she added.
However, Olajide Oshundun, the Ministry of Health's assistant director of information, said the ban was a result of months of work by a committee, which submitted a report into the widespread abuse of the medication on Tuesday.
While existing stocks could be sold, manufacturers in Nigeria "have been told by federal government not to use codeine in cough syrup", Mr Oshundun told the BBC.
"Those that want to import the substance, it is been banned now. It is completely banned," he added.
A health ministry spokesman told the BBC remaining stocks in shops could be sold with a prescription.
The BBC investigation showed the syrup being sold on the black market to be used by young Nigerians to get high.
It recorded a number of pharmaceutical figures selling the drug illegally.
The joint probe by the BBC's new investigation unit, Africa Eye, and BBC Pidgin prompted a swift response from people across the country, including Nigeria's first lady, Aisha Buhari, who said in an Instagram post she was "deeply saddened"by the rise of the problem, especially in the north of Nigeria.
"I call on all security agencies, lawmakers, judiciary, drug manufacturers, civil society, regulators, teachers, parents, neighbours and you to take this as a personal war and halt the menace," she added.
However, Olajide Oshundun, the Ministry of Health's assistant director of information, said the ban was a result of months of work by a committee, which submitted a report into the widespread abuse of the medication on Tuesday.
While existing stocks could be sold, manufacturers in Nigeria "have been told by federal government not to use codeine in cough syrup", Mr Oshundun told the BBC.
"Those that want to import the substance, it is been banned now. It is completely banned," he added.
Employee fired
The cough syrup was legal, but it was against the law to sell it to people without a doctor's prescription or those who did not have a pharmaceutical licence.
The Nigerian Senate estimates that as many as three million bottles of codeine syrup are drunk every single day in just two states, Kano and Jigawa.
The BBC's undercover team caught one executive for Emzor Pharmaceuticals boasting he could sell "one million cartons" in a week on the black market.
But Emzor told the BBC its representative only had access to a very limited amount of its brand of syrup, Emzolyn with codeine, and could not sell large quantities illegally.
Emzor released a statement on Facebook emphasising its commitment to the proper "handling, production, storing and distribution of products containing codeine".
It has suspended all distribution pending a "full and thorough investigation" and has fired the employee involved.
"We hope the findings of the documentary will shed further light on the extent and impact of the illicit trade and consumption of codeine," the statement said. "We hope that full stakeholder engagement will result in impactful action against the abuse, smuggling and faking of drugs on the continent."
Codeine cough syrup - the scale of the problem
Codeine is a pain killer but also an addictive opioid. Taken in excess, it can cause schizophrenia and organ failure.
Codeine syrup is commonly mixed with soft drinks and often consumed by students.
The codeine is imported, but the syrup is made in Nigeria by more than 20 pharmaceutical companies.
Nigeria's drug enforcement agency is fighting this epidemic. In a recent raid, it seized 24,000 bottles of codeine syrup from a single lorry in Katsina.
Codeine syrup addiction is a problem across Africa, with reports of addiction in Kenya, Ghana, Niger, and Chad.
In 2016, India banned multiple brands of codeine cough syrup following reports of addition.
The cough syrup was legal, but it was against the law to sell it to people without a doctor's prescription or those who did not have a pharmaceutical licence.
The Nigerian Senate estimates that as many as three million bottles of codeine syrup are drunk every single day in just two states, Kano and Jigawa.
The BBC's undercover team caught one executive for Emzor Pharmaceuticals boasting he could sell "one million cartons" in a week on the black market.
But Emzor told the BBC its representative only had access to a very limited amount of its brand of syrup, Emzolyn with codeine, and could not sell large quantities illegally.
Emzor released a statement on Facebook emphasising its commitment to the proper "handling, production, storing and distribution of products containing codeine".
It has suspended all distribution pending a "full and thorough investigation" and has fired the employee involved.
"We hope the findings of the documentary will shed further light on the extent and impact of the illicit trade and consumption of codeine," the statement said. "We hope that full stakeholder engagement will result in impactful action against the abuse, smuggling and faking of drugs on the continent."
Codeine cough syrup - the scale of the problem
Codeine is a pain killer but also an addictive opioid. Taken in excess, it can cause schizophrenia and organ failure.
Codeine syrup is commonly mixed with soft drinks and often consumed by students.
The codeine is imported, but the syrup is made in Nigeria by more than 20 pharmaceutical companies.
Nigeria's drug enforcement agency is fighting this epidemic. In a recent raid, it seized 24,000 bottles of codeine syrup from a single lorry in Katsina.
Codeine syrup addiction is a problem across Africa, with reports of addiction in Kenya, Ghana, Niger, and Chad.
In 2016, India banned multiple brands of codeine cough syrup following reports of addition.
24 dead in double bomb blasts in Nigeria mosque
At least 24 people were killed Tuesday in twin bomb blasts in a mosque in northeast Nigeria.
The incident occurred in the town of Mubi in Adamawa State at 1 p.m. local time as worshippers gathered for afternoon prayers, police said.
A spokesman for the Adamawa State police said the bombers were positioned in different locations around the mosque.
"The first bomber went into the mosque while they were praying and detonated his explosives, killing four people," Othman Abubakar said.
As worshippers fled the mosque, the second bomber, who was a few hundred meters away, also detonated his device, killing another 20 people, Abubakar said.
"This desecration of a place of worship by criminals is tragic and condemnable," said a five-part statement on the verified Twitter account for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's office.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was working with emergency services to make sure victims were being cared for, according to the tweets.
The government has ordered security services to bolster their numbers in Mubi and other places, particularly around markets and places of worship.
The bombings come just a day after suicide bombers killed four people in Maiduguri, Borno State.
It also comes a day after Buhari met Trump at the White House and had discussions about the security challenges the country faces, including the nearly decadelong insurgency by Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast of the country.
The incident occurred in the town of Mubi in Adamawa State at 1 p.m. local time as worshippers gathered for afternoon prayers, police said.
A spokesman for the Adamawa State police said the bombers were positioned in different locations around the mosque.
"The first bomber went into the mosque while they were praying and detonated his explosives, killing four people," Othman Abubakar said.
As worshippers fled the mosque, the second bomber, who was a few hundred meters away, also detonated his device, killing another 20 people, Abubakar said.
"This desecration of a place of worship by criminals is tragic and condemnable," said a five-part statement on the verified Twitter account for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's office.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was working with emergency services to make sure victims were being cared for, according to the tweets.
The government has ordered security services to bolster their numbers in Mubi and other places, particularly around markets and places of worship.
The bombings come just a day after suicide bombers killed four people in Maiduguri, Borno State.
It also comes a day after Buhari met Trump at the White House and had discussions about the security challenges the country faces, including the nearly decadelong insurgency by Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast of the country.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Video - Trump calls on Nigeria to remove trade barriers
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has become the first sub-Saharan African leader to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House. On the agenda was security, trade and the economy - but one infamous topic was not discussed.
Monday, April 30, 2018
Video - Nigeria wants to turn Sambisa forest into a tourist attraction
Nigeria's Sambisa Forest has long been known as the Boko Haram stronghold. Now the Nigerian military wants to turn the forest into a tourist attraction. But, is this plan viable?
Video - President Buhari Impeachment Process - Legal and judiciary committee to review Senate motion
Nigeria's senate has begun the process of impeaching president Muhammadu Buhari. It's in relation to the procurement of war planes in the fight against Boko Haram. The senate has voted in favour of impeachment. The matter now goes to a legal and judiciary committee for review - to see whether there's any legal merit.
Video - Nigerian government plans to hike energy tariffs to attract investors
Nigeria plans to hike energy tariffs by 2021 in a bid to attract more investment and improve power supply. Nigeria's electricity sector has remained unattractive to investors due to power tariffs set by the government which are below the cost electricity generation.
Regional leaders meet in Abuja, Nigeria seek end to land tensions
West African leaders are meeting for talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja. They're seeking solutions to the conflict over land resources in the region. One of the suggestions is banning the un-registered movement of animals across West Africa.
Video - President Buhari set to meet Donald Trump in Washington
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari is set to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, to discuss economic and military ties.
The meeting on Monday will mark the second time Buhari sits down with a US president in the three years he has been in power - the first being with Barack Obama in 2015.
Buhari, who came into office promising to defeat Boko Haram has just a year left of his first term. But the armed group still poses a significant threat to Nigeria, as attacks in the northeast of the country continue to take place.
Reporting from Nigeria's capital, Abuja, Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris said Buhari hopes to use his visit to the White House to acquire military hardware to fight Boko Haram.
"In the heart of the Nigerian president will be his three-pronged agenda to secure Nigeria, to revive the economy and to fight corruption," Femi Adesina, the media adviser to Nigeria's president, told Al Jazeera.
But with the invitation coming from the White House, some believe the meeting could focus more on what the Americans want.
"Inviting the Nigerian president is important to see how Nigeria can be co-opted to be part of the Western geopolitical interests," economist Basil Odilim Enwegbara said.
The talks take place at a time when both the US and China are looking to strengthen financial relations with Africa.
Buhari is the first leader from sub-Saharan Africa to visit the White House since Trump took office more than a year ago.
Friday, April 27, 2018
Video - Nigerian children at risk as vaccination campaigns have limited reach
Millions of Nigerian children under the age of five are at risk of contracting preventable diseases due to limited reach of immunization campaigns. A recent survey conducted by the Nigerian government shows only one out of every four children has received mandatory vaccinations.
Video - Another deadly raid reported in Nigeria's Benue State
There has reportedly been another attack in Nigeria's Benue State. At least seven people have apparently been killed in a raid on a church and a primary school in the Logo area. It comes just a day after at least 16 people -- including two Catholic priests -- were killed in a church in the village of Ayar Mbalom, also in Benue state. The government has yet to confirm this latest raid. It's believed unknown gunmen opened fire at the victims, who had been taking refuge in the church after being displaced from their homes during earlier violence.
Video - Blind Nigerian teen uses recycled plastic to create unique Fuji music
A Nigerian teenager is breaking into the international music scene with the help of social media. Basit Raheem performs Fuji -- an indigenous genre of music, influenced by traditional Islamic sounds. The 14-year-old uses recycled plastic bottles to create a unique beat to accompany his singing. But what's perhaps most impressive, is that Basit does it all by touch, as he is blind.
President Buhari summoned to Senate over church killings
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been summoned by the Senate over a spate of killings in the country's middle belt.
The lawmakers are yet to set a date for the president's appearance but said violence in Nigeria's central states could lead to "serious crisis" in the country.
"We all know that the dimension this is taking can lead to serious crisis in this country. It means we need to take drastic action. We must say 'no'. These daily killings, have to stop," said Bukola Saraki, Nigeria's Senate leader.
Members of the country's lower parliament who had invited the President Wednesday also passed a vote of no confidence in service chiefs and security advisers, calling for their dismissal over their inability to protect Nigerians.
The lawmakers said could no longer watch "our people are murdered in cold blood" and urged government to increase security measures in affected areas.
"We also resolved to summon the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces President Muhammadu Buhari in order to answer pertinent questions concerning what the Executive is doing to put a decisive end to the spate of killings in different states of the Federation," said Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives.
Buhari's media aide did not immediately respond to CNN's request for a comment.
The president is currently on a two-day working visit to Bauchi State, in north central Nigeria, where he is commissioning road projects and an air force medical facility, according to local media reports.
In the latest wave of violence to hit the middle belt region in recent months, two priests and 17 worshippers were killed Tuesday when armed men attacked a Catholic church during early morning mass in a remote village in Benue state.
The attackers razed over 50 houses in an attempt to take over the community, state police said. State police spokesman Terver Akase told CNN the attackers were thought to be Fulani cattle herdsmen,
Bello Bodejo, head of the cattle herders association, Miyetti Allah, denied the group's involvement in the attacks.
He called on the police and security agencies to investigate and reveal the identities of the attackers to put an end to speculation about his group's involvement.
"We are condemning Tuesday's attack because it is not acceptable. But we want a thorough investigation because every time there is an attack in the middle belt, they say it is Fulani people that caused it," he said in a phone interview with CNN.
"Many Fulani herdsman are not educated or organized enough to speak out against these accusations and this is why socio-cultural organizations like ours are appealing to Nigerians to assist us to get to the root of these attacks."
The violence between the Fulani herdsmen, who are mostly Muslims, and farmers, who are predominantly Christians, in the central state dates back to 2013. According to the Global Terrorism Index, Fulani extremists killed over 2,500 Nigerians between 2012 and 2016.
Cattle herders have evicted farmers by initiating deadly attacks in Nigeria's middle belt, the report from the Institute for Economics & Peace, a non-profit think tank, said.
The expanding conflict between herders and farmers in the region led to the enforcement of anti-grazing laws by local governments , a move that has exacerbated tensions in affected states.
At least 72 people were killed in January following weeks of violence between nomadic herdsmen and farmers in the central part of the West African country.
Buhari, who is ethnically Fulani, has been widely criticized by Nigerians for his perceived silence over previous attacks in Benue state.
He visited the state in March to console families and communities involved and has vowed to bring those responsible for Tuesday's attack to justice.
"This latest assault on innocent persons is particularly despicable. Violating a place of worship, killing priests and worshippers is not only vile, evil and satanic, it is clearly calculated to stoke up religious conflict and plunge our communities into endless bloodletting," Buhari said in a tweet.
International Christian rights organizations have also spoken out about what they see as persecution of some Nigerians because of their faith.
David Curry, president of Open Doors Christian Rights group, condemned Tuesday's attacks and stated that Christians are being targeted in north and central states in Nigeria.
He urged US President Donald Trump to discuss these "religious attacks" during his meeting with Buhari later this month.
"President Buhari has done nothing more than issue empty words of condolence as villages have been burned and thousands of religious minorities have been slaughtered.
Buhari will meet Trump in Washington April 30 to discuss ways of combating terrorism, promoting economic growth among other issues.
The lawmakers are yet to set a date for the president's appearance but said violence in Nigeria's central states could lead to "serious crisis" in the country.
"We all know that the dimension this is taking can lead to serious crisis in this country. It means we need to take drastic action. We must say 'no'. These daily killings, have to stop," said Bukola Saraki, Nigeria's Senate leader.
Members of the country's lower parliament who had invited the President Wednesday also passed a vote of no confidence in service chiefs and security advisers, calling for their dismissal over their inability to protect Nigerians.
The lawmakers said could no longer watch "our people are murdered in cold blood" and urged government to increase security measures in affected areas.
"We also resolved to summon the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces President Muhammadu Buhari in order to answer pertinent questions concerning what the Executive is doing to put a decisive end to the spate of killings in different states of the Federation," said Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives.
Buhari's media aide did not immediately respond to CNN's request for a comment.
The president is currently on a two-day working visit to Bauchi State, in north central Nigeria, where he is commissioning road projects and an air force medical facility, according to local media reports.
In the latest wave of violence to hit the middle belt region in recent months, two priests and 17 worshippers were killed Tuesday when armed men attacked a Catholic church during early morning mass in a remote village in Benue state.
The attackers razed over 50 houses in an attempt to take over the community, state police said. State police spokesman Terver Akase told CNN the attackers were thought to be Fulani cattle herdsmen,
Bello Bodejo, head of the cattle herders association, Miyetti Allah, denied the group's involvement in the attacks.
He called on the police and security agencies to investigate and reveal the identities of the attackers to put an end to speculation about his group's involvement.
"We are condemning Tuesday's attack because it is not acceptable. But we want a thorough investigation because every time there is an attack in the middle belt, they say it is Fulani people that caused it," he said in a phone interview with CNN.
"Many Fulani herdsman are not educated or organized enough to speak out against these accusations and this is why socio-cultural organizations like ours are appealing to Nigerians to assist us to get to the root of these attacks."
The violence between the Fulani herdsmen, who are mostly Muslims, and farmers, who are predominantly Christians, in the central state dates back to 2013. According to the Global Terrorism Index, Fulani extremists killed over 2,500 Nigerians between 2012 and 2016.
Cattle herders have evicted farmers by initiating deadly attacks in Nigeria's middle belt, the report from the Institute for Economics & Peace, a non-profit think tank, said.
The expanding conflict between herders and farmers in the region led to the enforcement of anti-grazing laws by local governments , a move that has exacerbated tensions in affected states.
At least 72 people were killed in January following weeks of violence between nomadic herdsmen and farmers in the central part of the West African country.
Buhari, who is ethnically Fulani, has been widely criticized by Nigerians for his perceived silence over previous attacks in Benue state.
He visited the state in March to console families and communities involved and has vowed to bring those responsible for Tuesday's attack to justice.
"This latest assault on innocent persons is particularly despicable. Violating a place of worship, killing priests and worshippers is not only vile, evil and satanic, it is clearly calculated to stoke up religious conflict and plunge our communities into endless bloodletting," Buhari said in a tweet.
International Christian rights organizations have also spoken out about what they see as persecution of some Nigerians because of their faith.
David Curry, president of Open Doors Christian Rights group, condemned Tuesday's attacks and stated that Christians are being targeted in north and central states in Nigeria.
He urged US President Donald Trump to discuss these "religious attacks" during his meeting with Buhari later this month.
"President Buhari has done nothing more than issue empty words of condolence as villages have been burned and thousands of religious minorities have been slaughtered.
His inaction has meant attacks by the Fulani are becoming more deadly and sophisticated," Curry said in a statement Wednesday.
Buhari will meet Trump in Washington April 30 to discuss ways of combating terrorism, promoting economic growth among other issues.
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