At least 19 people have been killed in fighting between members of ethnic groups in central Nigeria's Taraba state over ownership of a fishing lake, police said.
The violence broke out on Monday between the Shomo and Jole ethnic groups in Lau district.
"Nineteen people were confirmed dead," state police spokesman David Misal told AFP news agency on Wednesday.
"Around 100 houses were burned and several people were also injured."
Misal said long-standing animosity between the neighbouring communities over the lake's ownership had already cost dozens of lives.
He said the government had banned fishing around the lake after unsuccessful attempts at reconciliation by state authorities and the police. "However some miscreants flouted the ban ... leading to the clashes," Misal said.
President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the clashes in a statement late on Tuesday, expressing sadness at "the resort to violence over disagreements that could be resolved through dialogue".
"These frequent incidents of ethnic and communal violence is a failure of community leadership and the refusal to embrace dialogue as a means of conflict resolution," Buhari said
Communal clashes over land and water rights are common in parts of Nigeria, especially between nomadic herders and farmers in the centre of the country.
Al Jazeera
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
'Unacceptable' - Nigeria condemns treatment of citizens in China
Nigeria has condemned the "extremely distressing" and "unacceptable" footage appearing to show its citizens in China maltreated because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Zhou Pingjian in his office in Abuja on Tuesday, Nigeria's Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said: "There were videos circulating on social media of very disturbing scenes and incidents involving Nigerians in the city of Guangzhou."
Onyeama said it appeared that Nigerians were being discriminated against at hotels and restaurants and being stigmatised as supposed carriers of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
"We saw images of Nigerians in the streets with their possessions and this was, of course, extremely distressing for us at home," he said.
He said the situation was "unacceptable" to the Nigerian government and its people, and needed "immediate action" from the Chinese authorities.
The Chinese ambassador said Beijing was taking the issues the minister raised "very seriously" and said China would continue to foster cordial ties with Nigeria.
The conversation followed accusations of discrimination in the southern city of Guangzhou linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
Having brought under control the original outbreak centred on the city of Wuhan, Beijing is now concerned about imported cases and is stepping up scrutiny of foreigners coming into the country and tightening border controls.
And while Beijing has denied discrimination, Africans in China say they have become targets of suspicion and subjected to forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass coronavirus testing.
Earlier on Tuesday, US fast-food chain McDonald's apologised for a sign in one of its restaurants in Guangzhou telling black people they were banned from entering.
On Saturday, the African Union expressed "extreme concern" about the situation in Guangzhou and called on the Chinese government to take immediate corrective measures.
Al Jazeera
In a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Zhou Pingjian in his office in Abuja on Tuesday, Nigeria's Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said: "There were videos circulating on social media of very disturbing scenes and incidents involving Nigerians in the city of Guangzhou."
Onyeama said it appeared that Nigerians were being discriminated against at hotels and restaurants and being stigmatised as supposed carriers of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
"We saw images of Nigerians in the streets with their possessions and this was, of course, extremely distressing for us at home," he said.
He said the situation was "unacceptable" to the Nigerian government and its people, and needed "immediate action" from the Chinese authorities.
The Chinese ambassador said Beijing was taking the issues the minister raised "very seriously" and said China would continue to foster cordial ties with Nigeria.
The conversation followed accusations of discrimination in the southern city of Guangzhou linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
Having brought under control the original outbreak centred on the city of Wuhan, Beijing is now concerned about imported cases and is stepping up scrutiny of foreigners coming into the country and tightening border controls.
And while Beijing has denied discrimination, Africans in China say they have become targets of suspicion and subjected to forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass coronavirus testing.
Earlier on Tuesday, US fast-food chain McDonald's apologised for a sign in one of its restaurants in Guangzhou telling black people they were banned from entering.
On Saturday, the African Union expressed "extreme concern" about the situation in Guangzhou and called on the Chinese government to take immediate corrective measures.
Al Jazeera
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Video -Nigeria football supporters hopeful postponements can end soon
It's a tough time for football fans in Nigeria, where the game is the most popular among every other sports. With all sporting activities across the world suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, both fans and players of football in Nigeria say they miss the game a lot. CGTN's Deji Badmus has more.
Nigeria extends coronavirus lockdown in key cities for two weeks
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has announced a 14-day extension to a lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
In a televised address on Monday, Buhari said "it has become necessary to extend the current restriction of movement" that was set to expire later in the day.
Initial 14-day lockdowns in the three areas began on March 30.
There are currently 323 confirmed cases of the virus in Nigeria, with 71 percent of them registered in Lagos and the capital territory of Abuja. Ten people have died so far.
"It is a matter of life and death," Buhari said of the nation's response. "The repercussions of any premature end to the lockdown action are unimaginable."
Economic hardship
Nigeria, with 200 million people, is Africa's most populous nation. Some 20 million reside in the megacity of Lagos.
Health experts have raised alarms over the impact of a major coronavirus outbreak, warning that the country's unprepared and underfunded healthcare system could quickly become overwhelmed.
The extension of the lockdown is expected to add to the hardship of millions of Nigerians living hand-to-mouth, often on less than one dollar a day.
Buhari said he was "fully aware of the great difficulties experienced especially by those who earn a daily wage".
"But despite these realities, we must not change the restrictions," he added.
The government has pledged a series of support measures to ease the financial pain for the most vulnerable, but there have been widespread complaints that not enough is being done for those facing hunger.
"The vast majority of Nigerians depend on daily wages, they have to go out to get money and buy food to put it on the table for their families," Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, reporting from the capital, Abuja, said.
"For the next two weeks, they are going to stay at home with no work and no chance of getting money."
Meanwhile, police said on Monday that they were bolstering forces in Lagos and Ogun after almost 200 suspects were arrested amid fears of a spike in crime during the lockdown.
Buhari said compliance with the stay-at-home order and other restrictions introduced by state governors across the country had been "generally good".
But he cautioned that "a large proportion of new infections are now occurring in our communities".
Al Jazeera
In a televised address on Monday, Buhari said "it has become necessary to extend the current restriction of movement" that was set to expire later in the day.
Initial 14-day lockdowns in the three areas began on March 30.
There are currently 323 confirmed cases of the virus in Nigeria, with 71 percent of them registered in Lagos and the capital territory of Abuja. Ten people have died so far.
"It is a matter of life and death," Buhari said of the nation's response. "The repercussions of any premature end to the lockdown action are unimaginable."
Economic hardship
Nigeria, with 200 million people, is Africa's most populous nation. Some 20 million reside in the megacity of Lagos.
Health experts have raised alarms over the impact of a major coronavirus outbreak, warning that the country's unprepared and underfunded healthcare system could quickly become overwhelmed.
The extension of the lockdown is expected to add to the hardship of millions of Nigerians living hand-to-mouth, often on less than one dollar a day.
Buhari said he was "fully aware of the great difficulties experienced especially by those who earn a daily wage".
"But despite these realities, we must not change the restrictions," he added.
The government has pledged a series of support measures to ease the financial pain for the most vulnerable, but there have been widespread complaints that not enough is being done for those facing hunger.
"The vast majority of Nigerians depend on daily wages, they have to go out to get money and buy food to put it on the table for their families," Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, reporting from the capital, Abuja, said.
"For the next two weeks, they are going to stay at home with no work and no chance of getting money."
Meanwhile, police said on Monday that they were bolstering forces in Lagos and Ogun after almost 200 suspects were arrested amid fears of a spike in crime during the lockdown.
Buhari said compliance with the stay-at-home order and other restrictions introduced by state governors across the country had been "generally good".
But he cautioned that "a large proportion of new infections are now occurring in our communities".
Al Jazeera
Friday, April 10, 2020
Nigerians struggle as virus lockdown hits supply chains
At a market on the outskirts of Nigeria’s megacity Lagos, yam trader Olatunji Okesanya is scrambling for produce as measures to halt the coronavirus cut him off from suppliers.
“The restriction in the movement has disrupted supply — the farmers are finding it difficult to get their produce to Lagos,” he told AFP.
“The few who are able are bribing the security agents and this is making the price to rise.”
Authorities in Africa’s most populous nation are battling to stop the spread of a virus that has led to 288 confirmed infections and seven deaths.
Lagos, an economic hub of 20 million, is deep into the second week of a lockdown that has left it a shadow of its usually frenetic self.
The capital Abuja is also shut down and other states around the country have imposed their own restrictions.
Officials insist that the measures are needed to contain a disease that threatens to wreak havoc on the weak health system.
But farmers, sellers, and consumers complain the fight against the virus has turned Nigeria into a patchwork of roadblocks and regulations that have ruptured business links.
‘Losses are piling up’
Wale Oni has seen the lockdown in Lagos and neighbouring Ogun state hit his fish farm hard.
Travel restrictions have prevented him from feeding his stock properly and blocked customers from picking up their orders.
“Profits are being wiped off and losses are piling up,” he lamented.
“Feed prices and transportation costs have gone up.”
In a sign of how desperate the situation is getting many of the fish have started eating each other.
The coronavirus crisis has already battered Nigeria’s finances.
Africa’s biggest oil producer has seen government revenues gutted by a collapse in crude prices.
The authorities have frozen loan repayments for farmers and small businesses in a bid to ease the pain but many are demanding more action.
Analysts warn there could still be much tougher times ahead as the lockdowns push up costs and upset supply chains.
“As the pandemic looks set to be around for at least the next few months, we believe that consumers should prepare for even more price increases,” said Nigeria’s SBM Intelligence in a note.
“This development would have important implications for the health of the economy and largely determine whether the country’s present anaemic growth track turns into a full downturn.”
Bribes and banks
In theory food supplies should be exempt from most of the restrictions in place against the coronavirus and free to be transported.
But in a country eaten away by corruption, officers at checkpoints have often manipulated the situation to rake in money from bribes.
Other vital supplies like fertilisers fall into a grey zone and there could be a serious knock-on impact if these do not get through for the upcoming planting season.
“Our members have been arrested in some states while trying to deliver their products to farmers,” Kabiru Fara of the Nigerian Agro-Inputs Dealers Association told AFP.
Importers are also facing major hurdles that have seen the volumes of goods coming into Lagos through its clogged port dwindle.
“The banks are in fact closed and though theoretically it is possible to pay customs duties online, not all importers are able to do so,” said one employee at a major importer.
“As a result volume of deliveries of cargo are probably down 50 percent.”
‘We are getting hungry’
Securing their supplies is just one of the headaches for vendors.
In the ramshackle Obalende market on Lagos Island stallholders said that just as their costs were rising so customer numbers were falling.
The lockdown means that millions of poor in the city are struggling to make ends meet and do not have spare cash to spend.
“The price of transport has increased, so everything increases,” said Basseg Kate, sitting in front of her stores of rice, tomato paste and eggs.
“But we are making small prices for customers because they don’t have money.”
The authorities have restricted markets to working every other day, meaning produce can spoil.
“Everything is rotting,” said Ma Victor, waving flies away from her wares.
“Yesterday I wasn’t allowed to sell, now all my tomatoes are spoilt.”
Ernest Crusoe, a civil servant, was out looking for food — but he barely had any money left to buy it.
“We eat once a day now, the rest of the time we go and rest,” he said, showing the few small banknotes he had to spend.
“This thing is affecting us. We are getting hungry.”
The Guardian
“The restriction in the movement has disrupted supply — the farmers are finding it difficult to get their produce to Lagos,” he told AFP.
“The few who are able are bribing the security agents and this is making the price to rise.”
Authorities in Africa’s most populous nation are battling to stop the spread of a virus that has led to 288 confirmed infections and seven deaths.
Lagos, an economic hub of 20 million, is deep into the second week of a lockdown that has left it a shadow of its usually frenetic self.
The capital Abuja is also shut down and other states around the country have imposed their own restrictions.
Officials insist that the measures are needed to contain a disease that threatens to wreak havoc on the weak health system.
But farmers, sellers, and consumers complain the fight against the virus has turned Nigeria into a patchwork of roadblocks and regulations that have ruptured business links.
‘Losses are piling up’
Wale Oni has seen the lockdown in Lagos and neighbouring Ogun state hit his fish farm hard.
Travel restrictions have prevented him from feeding his stock properly and blocked customers from picking up their orders.
“Profits are being wiped off and losses are piling up,” he lamented.
“Feed prices and transportation costs have gone up.”
In a sign of how desperate the situation is getting many of the fish have started eating each other.
The coronavirus crisis has already battered Nigeria’s finances.
Africa’s biggest oil producer has seen government revenues gutted by a collapse in crude prices.
The authorities have frozen loan repayments for farmers and small businesses in a bid to ease the pain but many are demanding more action.
Analysts warn there could still be much tougher times ahead as the lockdowns push up costs and upset supply chains.
“As the pandemic looks set to be around for at least the next few months, we believe that consumers should prepare for even more price increases,” said Nigeria’s SBM Intelligence in a note.
“This development would have important implications for the health of the economy and largely determine whether the country’s present anaemic growth track turns into a full downturn.”
Bribes and banks
In theory food supplies should be exempt from most of the restrictions in place against the coronavirus and free to be transported.
But in a country eaten away by corruption, officers at checkpoints have often manipulated the situation to rake in money from bribes.
Other vital supplies like fertilisers fall into a grey zone and there could be a serious knock-on impact if these do not get through for the upcoming planting season.
“Our members have been arrested in some states while trying to deliver their products to farmers,” Kabiru Fara of the Nigerian Agro-Inputs Dealers Association told AFP.
Importers are also facing major hurdles that have seen the volumes of goods coming into Lagos through its clogged port dwindle.
“The banks are in fact closed and though theoretically it is possible to pay customs duties online, not all importers are able to do so,” said one employee at a major importer.
“As a result volume of deliveries of cargo are probably down 50 percent.”
‘We are getting hungry’
Securing their supplies is just one of the headaches for vendors.
In the ramshackle Obalende market on Lagos Island stallholders said that just as their costs were rising so customer numbers were falling.
The lockdown means that millions of poor in the city are struggling to make ends meet and do not have spare cash to spend.
“The price of transport has increased, so everything increases,” said Basseg Kate, sitting in front of her stores of rice, tomato paste and eggs.
“But we are making small prices for customers because they don’t have money.”
The authorities have restricted markets to working every other day, meaning produce can spoil.
“Everything is rotting,” said Ma Victor, waving flies away from her wares.
“Yesterday I wasn’t allowed to sell, now all my tomatoes are spoilt.”
Ernest Crusoe, a civil servant, was out looking for food — but he barely had any money left to buy it.
“We eat once a day now, the rest of the time we go and rest,” he said, showing the few small banknotes he had to spend.
“This thing is affecting us. We are getting hungry.”
The Guardian
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