The Nigerian-based Islamist militant group Boko Haram has a new leader, Chad's President Idriss Deby says.
He did not say what had happened to Abubakar Shekau, but said he had been replaced by Mahamat Daoud - who has not been heard of before.
Mr Shekau has not featured in the group's recent videos, leading to speculation that he has been killed.
Mr Deby, whose troops have been involved in battling Boko Haram, said Mr Daoud was open to dialogue.
The BBC's Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says that last year, the Chadian leader was said to be brokering peace talks with Boko Haram.
But the negotiations never happened and were widely seen as a sham so some analysts will question how much credence to give to Mr Deby's latest comments about the jihadist group, he adds.
Mr Shekau took over as the group's leader after the its founder, Muhammad Yusuf, died in Nigerian police custody in July 2009.
Under his leadership the group has become more radical and carried out more killings.
Previous reports about his death proved to be untrue.
The last Boko Haram video, which was released earlier this month, showed an unidentified young man speaking in the name of the Islamic State in West Africa calling on people to be patient: "We are still present everywhere we had been before."
He spoke in the regional Hausa language, with an accent from the Kanuri ethnic group, to which Mr Shekau belongs.
In numerous videos, Mr Shekau has taunted the Nigerian authorities, celebrating the group's violent acts including the abduction of the more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls in April 2014.
He was last heard from in March, when he released an audio message pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group.
Last month, Nigeria's new President Muhammadu Buhari said he would be willing to negotiate with the Boko Haram leadership for the release of the Chibok girls - depending on the credibility of those saying they represented the group.
A previous prisoner-swap attempt ended in failure.
Earlier this year, Chadian troops played a key role in a regional effort to retake towns and villages held in north-eastern Nigerian by Boko Haram.
BBC
Thursday, August 13, 2015
4 dead in helicopter crash in Lagos
A helicopter carrying 12 people crashed into a lagoon in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos on Wednesday, killing at least four people, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)said.
The helicopter operated by offshore energy transportation specialists Bristow Group, flying from an oil rig, crashed at around 3.30 p.m. (1430 GMT) in the Oworonshoki area of the city, shortly before it was due to land.
A rescue operation was continuing.
"We were watching the helicopter swaying in the air. And then it started to go down. As soon as it hit the water, we saw flames," said Nkoli Moka, who watched the crash from a car on the city's Third Mainland bridge.
"Four bodies have been recovered. Six people survived and two people are missing," said Fan Ndubuoke, a spokesman for the NCAA. The aircraft had been carrying 10 passengers and two crew.
Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited is part of Bristow Group, which provides helicopter transport to the worldwide offshore energy industry.
"Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited, confirmed today
that one of its helicopters was involved in an accident ... on approach to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at Lagos, Nigeria," said the company in a statement.
"The aircraft, a Sikorsky S-76C+, was returning from a drilling rig offshore," it said.
Reuters
The helicopter operated by offshore energy transportation specialists Bristow Group, flying from an oil rig, crashed at around 3.30 p.m. (1430 GMT) in the Oworonshoki area of the city, shortly before it was due to land.
A rescue operation was continuing.
"We were watching the helicopter swaying in the air. And then it started to go down. As soon as it hit the water, we saw flames," said Nkoli Moka, who watched the crash from a car on the city's Third Mainland bridge.
"Four bodies have been recovered. Six people survived and two people are missing," said Fan Ndubuoke, a spokesman for the NCAA. The aircraft had been carrying 10 passengers and two crew.
Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited is part of Bristow Group, which provides helicopter transport to the worldwide offshore energy industry.
"Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited, confirmed today
that one of its helicopters was involved in an accident ... on approach to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at Lagos, Nigeria," said the company in a statement.
"The aircraft, a Sikorsky S-76C+, was returning from a drilling rig offshore," it said.
Reuters
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Video - Nigerian banks continue shaming agenda for delinquent debtors
Nigeria's Bankers Committee has resolved to press ahead with the naming and shaming of delinquent debtors and even threatened to apply market sanctions on affected individuals and corporations. This is despite the controversy it has raised and potential lawsuits.
Related story: Video - Banks in Nigeria publicly shaming debtors
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Suicide bomber kills 47 in Nigeria
An explosion at a crowded market in the north-east state of Borno in Nigeria has killed at least 47 people, officials say.
As many as 52 people are believed to have been injured, a military source told Reuters news agency.
The blast struck Jebo livestock market in Sabon Gari town in southern Borno at about 13:30 local time (12:30 GMT), sources said.
Suspected Boko Haram militants have have killed hundreds in the state.
It is not clear whether the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber or by a planted device.
Borno State has been at the centre of an Islamist insurgency, but in recent months Boko Haram has also targeted villages and towns in northern Cameroon as well as Chad and Niger.
Bombings intensified after the new Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to crush the group. Since he was sworn in last May, more than 800 people have been killed.
BBC
As many as 52 people are believed to have been injured, a military source told Reuters news agency.
The blast struck Jebo livestock market in Sabon Gari town in southern Borno at about 13:30 local time (12:30 GMT), sources said.
Suspected Boko Haram militants have have killed hundreds in the state.
It is not clear whether the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber or by a planted device.
Borno State has been at the centre of an Islamist insurgency, but in recent months Boko Haram has also targeted villages and towns in northern Cameroon as well as Chad and Niger.
Bombings intensified after the new Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to crush the group. Since he was sworn in last May, more than 800 people have been killed.
BBC
Nigeria blocks ISIL recruitement
About 24,000 people were stopped from leaving Nigeria in the 15 months to March because of suspicion they could become involved in militant Islamism, prostitution or slavery, the country's immigration agency has said.
Many of them were suspected to be heading to join militant groups such as Islamic State (IS), the agency added.
Others tried to reach "greener pastures" to escape poverty, it said.
Nigeria is Africa's most populous state, and has high levels of poverty.
It has also been hit by a six-year insurgency waged by militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to IS in March.
The agency said Nigeria was a "catchment area for recruiters because of the high number of jobless people" in the West African state.
It had therefore intensified immigration checks to bar young Nigerians with "doubtful intentions" from leaving the country.
"The terrorist group has a syndicate that arranges travel documents, visas, ticket and money for their recruits," it added, in a statement.
Officials were also tackling illegal immigration, said Chukwuemaka Obuah, the agency's spokesman.
"We have always had problems of Nigerians going abroad for greener pasture. We look at the age of the intending traveller and the person he is travelling with, put them by the side and profile them thoroughly," he added.
The UN's Office on Drugs and Crime estimates West African trafficking victims, many of whom come from Nigeria, make up about 10% of those forced into sex work in Western Europe.
Last week, India detained two Nigerian students for allegedly trying to cross to Pakistan with the aim of finally reaching Iraq to join IS, media reports said.
Boko Haram's alliance with IS may be motivating young Nigerians to join the Middle Eastern group, reports the BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi from Nigeria's capital Abuja.
They may have also been influenced by IS propaganda available on social media sites, he adds.
BBC
Many of them were suspected to be heading to join militant groups such as Islamic State (IS), the agency added.
Others tried to reach "greener pastures" to escape poverty, it said.
Nigeria is Africa's most populous state, and has high levels of poverty.
It has also been hit by a six-year insurgency waged by militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to IS in March.
The agency said Nigeria was a "catchment area for recruiters because of the high number of jobless people" in the West African state.
It had therefore intensified immigration checks to bar young Nigerians with "doubtful intentions" from leaving the country.
"The terrorist group has a syndicate that arranges travel documents, visas, ticket and money for their recruits," it added, in a statement.
Officials were also tackling illegal immigration, said Chukwuemaka Obuah, the agency's spokesman.
"We have always had problems of Nigerians going abroad for greener pasture. We look at the age of the intending traveller and the person he is travelling with, put them by the side and profile them thoroughly," he added.
The UN's Office on Drugs and Crime estimates West African trafficking victims, many of whom come from Nigeria, make up about 10% of those forced into sex work in Western Europe.
Last week, India detained two Nigerian students for allegedly trying to cross to Pakistan with the aim of finally reaching Iraq to join IS, media reports said.
Boko Haram's alliance with IS may be motivating young Nigerians to join the Middle Eastern group, reports the BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi from Nigeria's capital Abuja.
They may have also been influenced by IS propaganda available on social media sites, he adds.
BBC
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