25 killed truck in overloaded truck accident in Nigeria

A truck overloaded with food items and more than 200 people crashed in north-central Nigeria’s Niger state, killing 25 passengers and injuring dozens of others, authorities said Wednesday.

The truck was on its way to Nigeria’s economic hub of Lagos on Tuesday when it crashed in Takalafia village in Niger’s Magama district on Tuesday, according to Nigeria’s road safety agency.

Niger Gov. Mohammed Umaru Bago said in a statement that the 25 victims have been taken to a nearby mortuary while other passengers were being treated for their injuries.

Kumar Tsukwam, sector commander of Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps in Niger, told The Associated Press that it’s believed some of the passengers wanted to travel with the trailer through Tuesday night to avoid unsafe roads during the day.

“The passengers were not mindful of the (nature of the) road and the goods it was conveying,” Tsukwam said.

Overloading and speeding are common causes of crashes along major roads in Nigeria where traffic rules are often not adhered to, with drivers who disobey the rules often escaping penalties.

Authorities are going to ensure that “stringent penalties are meted out to traffic rule violators” in Niger state, Bago said.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu mourned the victims and urged commuters to drive safely, especially as the festive season approaches.

“The president describes the incident as a harrowing tragedy and directs the agency responsible for emergency response to immediately move in and ensure that those injured get the necessary treatment,” Tinubu’s office said in a statement.

By, Chinedu Asadu, AP

Court grants bail to central bank chief of Nigeria facing fraud charges

A Nigerian court has freed former central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, who has been charged with six counts of fraud and corruption, on bail.

Emefiele, suspended as head of the central bank in June and arrested by the security services, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He was granted bail by Justice Hamza Muazu on Wednesday subject to the provision of a 300 million naira (roughly $333,000) bond and two sureties with properties in the upscale Maitama district of the country’s capital Abuja.

“I hereby admit the applicant [Emefiele] to bail subject to his appearance in court,” Justice Muazu said in his ruling.

The judge asked Emefiele, 62, to deposit his travel documents with the court and remain in Abuja while the case against him proceeds.

The disgraced former bank chief, who made an unprecedented run for the Nigerian presidency last year, was one of the country’s most powerful people in the last decade. He was head of the bank for nine years, mostly under President Bola Tinubu’s predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.

Emefiele oversaw a much-criticised system of multiple exchange rates used to keep the local naira currency artificially strong.

But then he fell out of favour with the government after Buhari’s exit and resigned in August, paving the way for Tinubu’s appointment of new central bank governor Olayemi Cardoso.

At his inauguration in May, Tinubu, who announced economic reforms, had said the central bank policy needed “thorough house-cleaning”.

Emefiele has since been accused of “conferring corrupt advantage”. Prosecutors cut the charges from a previous 20-count indictment, which he faced along with two others, so he could be tried separately and quickly.

He has not commented publicly on the case. 

Al Jazeera

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Nigeria leads as fastest-growing student population in Canada

Nigerians have emerged as Canada's fastest-growing international student population in the first half of 2023. This is according to a recently released report on Nigerian study permit trends in Canada, highlighting growing visa numbers and which provinces Nigerians are studying in.


The report published by ApplyBoard revealed that Nigerian student mobility to Canada is increasing at a momentous rate. According to the report, the Canadian government issued just over 3,000 student visas to Nigerian nationals in 2019. By 2021, that number had doubled, and in 2022, it doubled again. Now, amid record numbers of international students coming to study in Canada, Nigerians have become the country's fastest-growing student population.

Growing Canadian Student Visa Numbers for Nigerian Students

Key findings from the article reveal Nigerians submitted more than 43,000 study permit applications across the first six months of 2023 and appear likely to become Canada's second-largest cohort of inbound students this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of the 43,000 applications, nearly 18,000 Canadian study permits were issued to Nigerians across the first six months of 2023, more than for any other country of origin but India. Insufficient finances were cited as a refusal reason in 74% of study permit refusals for Nigerians in 2021 and 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearly 18,000 Nigerian students came to Canada to study in the first half of 2023. This was more inbound students than any other country excep India.

The report also noted that the study permit approval rates for Nigerians continued to rise across the first six months of 2023, to just under 40% - more than double what approval rates were in 2020.


Another interesting insight from the report showed that Nigerian students are more evenly distributed across Canada than average. Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick, each accounted for more than 5% of study permits issued to Nigerians from January to June 2023.

Eight of 10 provinces saw more Nigerian students issued study permits in the first half of 2023 than in the previous year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Across these four regions, Ontario and BC accounted for around 63% of study permits issued to Nigerians in the first six months of 2023.

While Ontario and BC were the top destinations, Nigerian students are far less centralised in those two provinces than average. Nova Scotia's growth is particularly notable, with more than twice as many study permits issued as in full-year 2022. That was the third most behind Ontario and British Columbia.

Given the increasing centralisation of international students at Ontario colleges, the report concludes that the Nigerian student population is an important corridor to maintain the long-term health of Canada's international education sector.

By Victor Oluwole, Business Insider Africa

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Nigeria, Canada to strengthen trade investments

Nigeria and Germany sign $500 mln renewable energy and gas deal

Nigerian and German companies on Tuesday signed two accords in Berlin that include a $500 million renewable energy pact and a gas export deal, further strengthening economic ties between the two nations, a presidential spokesperson said.

Union Bank of Nigeria and Germany's DWS Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on renewable energy. The agreement seeks to harness $500 million in investment in renewable energy projects across Nigeria, mostly in rural communities, spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement.

A second MoU on gas export partnership was agreed between Riverside LNG of Nigeria and Germany's Johannes Schuetze Energy Import AG. Under the accord, Nigeria will supply 850,000 tons of natural gas to Germany annually which is expected to rise to 1.2 million. The first deliveries will be in 2026, Ngelale said.

The deal will help process about 50 million cubic feet per day of natural gas that otherwise would have flared.

Nigeria holds Africa's largest gas reserves of more than 200 trillion cubic feet, but flares, or burns off, about 300 million cubic feet daily due to inadequate processing facilities.

President Bola Tinubu, who is attending the G20 Compact with Africa conference in Berlin, welcomed the deals, Ngelale said.

On Monday German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will invest 4 billion euros in green energy projects in Africa until 2030, noting these could in turn help Europe's largest economy achieve its own transition to carbon neutrality.

Germany will need to import large quantities of green hydrogen going forward, including from Africa, if it is to achieve its goal of net zero emissions by 2045, he said at a German-African business forum in Berlin.

The forum preceded the G20 Compact with Africa summit that aims to drum up investment in the world's poorest but fast-growing continent by coordinating the development agendas of reform-minded countries and identifying business opportunities.


Under Tinubu, Nigeria has embarked on the boldest reforms in decades, scrapping a popular petrol subsidy and lifting restrictions on foreign exchange trading.

Tinubu is seeking to make Nigeria attractive to investors as he strives to revive its economy that is weighed down by sluggish growth, record debt, double-digit inflation and theft of crude oil, its main export.

By Felix Onuah, Reuters

Related story: Video - Germany looking to buy natural gas from Nigeria

Video - FAO says at least 27 million people in Nigeria likely to experience hunger in 2024

The Food and Agricultural Organization projects that nearly 26.5 million Nigerians will experience hunger by next year. This is linked to challenges, including security issues like insurgency and banditry in northern Nigeria, which have adversely impacted food production.

CGTN