Video - Nigerian Air Force accidentally bombs refugee camp - 52 dead

A Nigerian Air Force fighter jet on a mission against Boko Haram extremists mistakenly bombed a refugee camp Tuesday, killing dozens of people.

Military commander Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor confirmed an accidental bombardment in the northeastern town of Rann, near the border with Cameroon, saying "some" civilians were killed.

A spokesman from Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said at least 52 people were killed and 120 injured in an airstrike on a refugee camp in the country's northeast.

A Borno state government official, who was helping to coordinate the evacuation of wounded from the remote area by helicopters, had earlier said more than 100 refugees and aid workers were among the dead. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

It was believed to be the first time Nigeria's military has admitted to making such a mistake in a region where villagers have in the past reported civilian casualties in the near-daily bombings targeting the Islamic militants.

The International Committee for the Red Cross said six staff workers with the Nigerian Red Cross were among the dead and 13 were wounded.

"They were part of a team that had brought in desperately needed food for over 25,000 displaced persons," spokesman Jason Straziuso said in a statement from Nairobi, Kenya.

Two soldiers were also wounded as well as Nigerians working for Doctors Without Borders, Irabor said, without giving a precise figure.

"This large-scale attack on vulnerable people who have already fled from extreme violence is shocking and unacceptable," said Dr. Jean-Clément Cabrol, the aid group's director of operations. "The safety of civilians must be respected."

Irabor said he ordered the mission based on information that Boko Haram insurgents were gathering, along with geographic co-ordinates. It was too early to say if a tactical error was made, he said.

The general, who is the theatre commander for counterinsurgency operations in northeast Nigeria, said the air force would not deliberately target civilians but there will be an investigation.

Some of the nearly 300 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 and freed last year have said three of their classmates were killed by air force bombardments, according to the freed girls' parents.

Boko Haram's seven-year-old Islamic uprising has killed more than 20,000 people and forced 2.6 million from their homes, creating the continent's worst humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations warning some 5.1 million people face starvation.

CBC

Video - Suicide attack hits Nigeria's University of Maiduguri

At least four people were killed and 15 others injured in a suicide bomb attack on a university campus in northeast Nigeria, police said.

Video - Abductors demand $300,000 for release of hostages kidnapped in Nigerian school

Gunmen who kidnapped eight people from a school in south-western Nigeria last week have issued a ransom demand. They want more than three hundred thousand dollars.

Nigeria will lead in Bitcoin adoption in Africa

Bitcoin adoption in Africa was being spearheaded by South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana, until recently. In fact, the year 2016 witnessed the upward improvement of Bitcoin penetration in the Federal Republic of Nigeria in an encouraging dimension.

In October 2016, a Nigerian based Exchange BitX announced that their wallet on Google Play Store recorded 100,000 downloads. Besides the increase in volume, the exchange also stated among other things that the price rate was also lucrative. For instance, when Bitcoin price was around $800, Nigerians were buying it at $1000.

Many analysts are confident the drift will keep growing to the extent where Nigeria may overtake countries like Kenya and Ghana. News BTC decided to find out what is driving this positive move in the West African Nation.

E. A. Afolabi, CEO of Exact Group, an Information Technology outfit in Lagos Nigeria is convinced Nigeria will lead in adoption sooner than later. “We are going to be in the lead. We are not good at starting, but we will benefit in anything until it is not existing,” Afolabi stated.

The IT expert explained that Nigerians are making use of Bitcoin to make life easier in so many spheres of life. According to him, Satoshis facilitates activities like MMM, Zarfund, Online Shopping, Forex and cross-border trading for his compatriots.

On the perception of the government on Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, Afolabi is of the view that the government should overcome its inexperience. “The recent Security and Exchange Commission’s warning to Nigerians to beware of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies are uncalled for, and ignorance at best.” He further stated that “The government will do all Nigeria’s an invaluable service by finding out the immense benefits of Bitcoin.”

From Afolabi’s scope, the biggest challenge facing Bitcoin in the Africa’s most populous country is the distrust of online-based activities. “Bitcoin is already in Nigeria, but the fear of online is the challenge most of the illiterates and few scholars are afraid of. Most believe that anything online is fraudulent,” he related. Meanwhile, 59.6% of the total population of the dwellers of the River Niger are Literates.

It is also worth noting that only 32.5 percent of the adult population in Nigeria have access to Bank Accounts. The situation makes Cryptocurrency extremely ideal for adoption.

To have your bank account on your smartphone is exciting for many Nigerians. And Nigeria is awash with Smartphones. Needless to say, this Sub-Sahara African country is one of the most bureaucratic countries in the world.

Refreshingly, all factors indicate that Bitcoin will thrive astonishingly well in Nigeria and the future is radiant. “In the next five years, even in the village, they will be using Bitcoin to buy from China,” Afolabi, concluded excitedly.

Newsbtc

Suicide bomb attack kills professor and child in Nigeria

A professor at the University of Maiduguri and a child were killed and 17 people wounded on Monday in a twin suicide bombing in the city in Nigeria's northeast, officials said.

State emergency agency NEMA said two suicide bombers blew themselves up at different gates to the university in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, the former stronghold of Boko Haram Islamist militants, at around 5 a.m..

There was no claim of responsibility but the attacks bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which has killed 15,000 people and displaced more than 2 million during a seven-year insurgency to set up an Islamic state in Nigeria's northeast.

The group has stepped up attacks in the past few weeks as the end of the rainy season facilitates movements in the bush.

In early 2015, Boko Haram controlled an area about the size of Belgium. It has been pushed out of most of that territory over the past year by Nigeria's army and troops from neighboring countries.

Last month, President Muhammadu Buhari said Boko Haram fighters had been pushed out of the Sambisa forest, their last stronghold in the northeast.

Security analysts say the group's ability to carry out attacks in neighboring Niger, Cameroon and Chad suggests it has multiple bases.

Reuters