15 Pilgrims from Nigeria killed by Burkina-Faso gunmen

At least 15 Nigerian Muslim pilgrims on their way to Senegal were killed when gunmen in Burkina Faso attacked the buses transporting them, Nigeria's presidency said on Monday.

"President Muhammadu Buhari has received the tragic news of the murder," the State House said in a statement without providing a number of casualties or further details on the attack.

A Nigerian presidency spokesperson told Reuters via a WhatsApp message that the death toll stood at 15 "so far".

According to a Senegalese religious order, unidentified assailants attacked the convoy of buses on Wednesday and killed 18 passengers.

The pilgrims were on their way to a religious ceremony in Senegal from Niger and Nigeria, a trip that involves crossing jihadist hotspots in northern Burkina Faso and central Mali.

"Eighteen passengers lost their lives during these attacks, and most of the survivors were robbed," the Medina Baye Mosque in Koalack, the Senegalese town where the victims were headed, said in a statement on Saturday.

Nigerian authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.

Nigeria's presidency said in the statement that it was in touch with Burkinabe authorities and awaiting the outcome of their investigation into the incident.

Burkina Faso's Foreign Affairs Minister Olivia Rouamba met with Nigeria's ambassador to the country on Monday to discuss the allegations.

"For the time being there is no concrete information or element picked up on the field that proves the veracity of these facts," Rouamba said in a statement after the meeting.

She added that authorities had strongly discouraged travel through the north due to "huge risks" of attacks.

Burkina Faso is battling a jihadist insurgency with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State that spilled over from neighbouring Mali in 2015.

Militants have spread over the tri-border area between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and encroached on coastal West African states despite costly international efforts to stop them.

Regular attacks on towns and villages, army posts and U.N. peacekeepers have caused thousands of deaths, displaced over 2 million people across the Sahel and aggravated food insecurity.

By Felix Onuah, Reuters

Tems wins Grammy award

 

 

 

 

Top Nigerian artists have joined music fans from across the world to congratulate singer Tems on winning a Grammy award.

She won the Best Melodic Rap Performance category for her contribution to the hit song "Wait for U" with Future and Drake.

They beat a strong field which included Kendrick Lamar and DJ Khaled.

Artists including Tiwa Savage, Waje and Omowunmi have posted messages congratulating Tems.

"It's Tems' time. Nobody can stop her shine. Superstar," posted Afrobeat singer Olamide.


Many fans have also taken to Twitter to congratulate her.

The 27-year-old has been praised by fellow artists for her vocal talent.

She reportedly has collaborations lined up with several mega starts including Beyoncé and Rihanna.

Meanwhile, South Africans Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini and Nomcebo Zikode also won a Grammy Award - for Best Global Music Performance for their collaboration Bayethe.

BBC

Artist from Nigeria turns flip-flops into portraits

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eugene Komboye, a Nigerian artist, is turning discarded plastic flip-flop sandals into colourful portraits in an effort to help clean up the environment in a country where plastic pollution is prevalent.

What started as an assignment in college in 2017, has become a full time job for Komboye, whose studio in the city of Abeokuta in the southwest state of Ogun now trains aspiring artists who want to follow in his footsteps and create flip-flop portraits.

Nigeria produces at least 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, according to government figures, with some of it finding its way into the ocean and rivers.

Flip-flops are the footwear of choice for many Nigerians and

Komboye, 30, sources his material mostly from dump sites, landfills and river banks. Back in his studio he disinfects and washes his findings before cutting them up and pasting them on a board to create a face on each one. Some customers come to his studio with photographs which he will use to create a personalised portrait.

By Seun Sanni, Reuters

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800 ballot boxes destroyed by Gunmen in Nigeria

More than 800 ballot boxes were destroyed by armed gunmen, who attacked an office of the electoral commission in southeast Nigeria on Wednesday.

It's the latest in the series of attacks on the electoral commission's offices across the region, blamed on armed pro-Biafra separatists groups. Biafra was the country separatists hoped to create but was quashed during Nigeria's bloody civil war.

In recent years, pro-Biafra militants have caused widespread terror, attacking government and security posts, and more recently, electoral offices. It's raising fears for whether the election can hold as planned.

Insecurity is a huge issue in Nigeria, with a militant Islamist insurgency in the north east, banditry in the north west and a rise in kidnapping for cash countrywide. Voters in Africa's most populous country are due to head to the polls at the end of this month.

By Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR   

Related stories: U.S. blocks entry to those 'undermining' democracy in Nigeria

Video - Elections to go on despite security concerns in Nigeria

 

     

Female bouncers in Nigeria challenging stereotypes

This Nigerian all-female security crew, known as the Dragon Squad, is breaking stereotypes in a male-dominated industry.

Al Jazeera 

Related story: Female bouncers in Nigeria show their strength fighting stereotypes