Monday, February 5, 2024

Video - Gunmen kill four officers in Borno state



The Borno state police commissioner said the officers were on duty and attacked while defending the police quarters in Gajiram Town.

CGTN

Related story: Traditional monarch shot dead and wife kidnapped from palace in Nigeria

 

Shell agrees to develop Nigeria gas field for Dangote fertiliser

Shell Plc has made a final investment decision to build a gas supply facility in Nigeria to feed a fertiliser plant owned by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote, the company said in a statement.

The new facility will supply 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day from the Iseni field to the Dangote Fertiliser and Petrochemical plant for 10 years, according to the deal agreed by Shell and its joint venture partners TotalEnergies,Eni, and the state oil firm NNPC Ltd.

The $2.5 billion plant, Africa's largest urea complex with a 3-million-tonne output per year, accounts for 65% of Nigeria's fertiliser needs and can supply all the major markets in the sub-region.

"The agreement is a critical step in pursuing the development of the gas-rich Iseni field, which is part of the Okpokunou Cluster in Oil Mining Lease 35" in the oil-rich Bayelsa state, Shell's Nigeria chief, Osagie Okunbor, said in an email.

Nigeria holds Africa's largest gas reserves of more than 200 trillion cubic feet and is seeking to develop the reserves to boost supply to industries, power plants, and for exports.

Okunbor said the project will increase the delivery of gas to the domestic market and help stimulate economic growth. 

By Isaac Anyaogu, Reuters



Video - Students in Nigeria showcase robotics prowess and tech innovation



The Nigerian AI-Robotics competition, which is now in its tenth year, is a hub of youthful brilliance, where students from public and private schools showcase their robotics prowess, creating a spectacle that goes beyond traditional education boundaries. The West African nation is tapping into AI-Robotics competition to nurture excellence in the field.

CGTN

Tyla's win over Burna Boy and Davido at Grammys 2024 fuels South Africa-Nigeria rivalry

 South African singer Tyla's victory at the Grammys, beating four Nigerian nominees, has fuelled the rivalry as the two nations prepare to face off at the Afcon semi-finals on Wednesday.

"South Africa won today but Nigeria will win on Wednesday where it matters most" one user wrote on X.

Tyla won for her song Water in the Best African Music Performance, over Davido, Arya Starr and Burna Boy.

Nigerians have called on their national team, the Super Eagles, to avenge them.

"No Nigerian won a Grammy, but a South African won. This is Nigerians being generous so that when we win them in AFCON, they will have something to banter with," another user wrote on X.

Nigerian Afrobeats giant Burna Boy was nominated in a total of four categories but did not walk away with a golden gramophone, yet his spellbinding performance at the award ceremony left the audience in awe.

Despite the fierce rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa, Davido extended his congratulations to Tyla on X and told her to "keep soaring".

South Africa was also represented by comedian Trevor Noah who was at the helm of the prestigious award ceremony as he was hosting for a fourth time. 

BBC

Traditional monarch shot dead and wife kidnapped from palace in Nigeria

Gunmen killed a Nigerian traditional monarch and kidnapped his wife after raiding his palace, police said, as outrage grows over a spate of abductions across the country.

Attackers stormed the palace of Oba Aremu Olusegun Cole in south-western Kwara state, shot him dead and abducted his wife and another person on Thursday.

State police said they had launched an investigation and stepped up security.

Similar attacks regularly take place in Nigeria, which is struggling with a security crisis on several fronts. Two traditional rulers were shot dead by unknown gunmen in neighbouring Ekiti state on Monday.

Last year the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, came to power promising to address insecurity – including jihadists in the north-east, criminal militias in the north-west and growing intercommunal violence in the centre of the country – but critics say violence is spinning out of control.

The Nigerian risk consultancy SBM Intelligence said it had recorded that 3,964 people were abducted since Tinubu took office in May.

At the start of the year, criminals abducted five young sisters near the capital, Abuja, and killed one when a ransom deadline passed, prompting a national outcry.

The Guardian 

Related stories: Nigeria police did not free them, we paid ransom for the sisters, family says

President Tinubu says ‘massive education’ of youth will help end kidnappings threatening the capital

Video - Over 100 kidnapped from four villages in Nigeria