Separatists' sit-at-home protests lead to 700 deaths in Nigeria's southeast

A sit-at-home order by banned separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra in Nigeria's southeast has led to the death of over 700 people in the region over the past four years, an intelligence consultancy said in a new report.

The IPOB, campaigning for the secession of the southeast that is predominantly inhabited by the Igbo ethnic group, has been labelled a terrorist organisation by Nigerian authorities.

SBM Intelligence reported that the fatalities resulted from the killing of civilians who defied the weekly stay-at-home order every Monday and on other specific days, as well as from clashes between the IPOB and Nigerian security forces.

"IPOB's enforcement tactics, including arson, looting and targeted assassinations, have created a climate of fear," the SBM report said.

"While there was a high rate of compliance with sit-at-home orders in 2021 (82.61%), surveys reveal that actual support is much lower (29%) now, with many complying under duress."

An IPOB spokesperson denied the group was responsible for the deaths.

"Those causing the killings are the kidnappers and criminals recruited by government to blackmail and demonize IPOB," the spokesperson said.

The government did not respond to a request for comment.

The IPOB launched the sit-at-home protest in August 2021 across the five states of Nigeria's southeast, using it as leverage to demand the release of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing trial in the capital Abuja on terrorism charges.

The group suspended the weekly protest days later, citing a "direct order" from Kanu, who has been in custody since 2021, and reinstated it only on days the IPOB leader would be appearing in court.

However, other armed groups claiming allegiance to IPOB and factions within the group have persisted in enforcing the weekly protest, launching attacks on government facilities and perceived pro-government individuals.

Despite IPOB's attempts to disassociate itself from the region's violence, the police have accused the group of involvement in several incidents, including a 2021 attack on a prison and the murder of over 30 travellers earlier this month.

The IPOB denied responsibility for those two attacks.

The SBM report added that beyond the deaths, the sit-at-home order, which suspends economic activities in the southeast every Monday and on days when Kanu appears in court, has resulted in economic losses surpassing 7.6 trillion naira ($4.79 billion).

Civil war engulfed the restive Biafra region in the late 1960s, killing more than 1 million people.

By Ben Ezeamalu, Reuters

Nigeria's ruling party endorses President Tinubu for 2027 re-election

Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party on Thursday endorsed President Bola Tinubu to run for a second and final term at the next election, due in early 2027.

Tinubu, 73, won the last presidential vote in February 2023, which his two main rivals unsuccessfully challenged in court, alleging the vote was rigged. Tinubu said he won fairly.

The APC said at a summit in Abuja, the capital, that it wanted Tinubu to continue with reforms that the government says have rebooted the economy after removing a costly petrol subsidy and liberalising the exchange rate.

Tinubu's reforms have won applause from credit ratings agencies, foreign investors and the International Monetary Fund. Critics say they have caused the worst cost-of-living crisis in recent memory.

Abdullahi Ganduje, the APC national chairman, said, "On behalf of the National Working Committee I hereby affirm the various endorsements and declare President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as sole presidential candidate of APC."

The summit coincided with the second anniversary of Tinubu's presidency, and several cabinet ministers also spoke about their achievements since taking office.

Presidents in Nigeria can serve a maximum of two four-year terms.

Although Tinubu faces criticism that his policies have hurt Nigerians and that he has failed to end insecurity, including a long-running Islamist insurgency and banditry, the opposition is seen as too divided and weak to mount a serious challenge.

The opposition parties have also been hit by some high-profile defections to the APC. Tinubu said he expected more such defections, adding, "That is the game."

By MacDonald Dzirutwe, Reuters

Nigerian government sues senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over assassination claims

The Nigerian government has pressed charges against a senator who accused one of the country's top politicians of plotting to kill her.

In April, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that Godswill Akpabio, the Senate president, and Yahaya Bello, a former state governor, wanted to "eliminate" her. Both have denied the accusation.

Weeks before, Akpoti-Uduaghan had accused the Senate president of sexually harassing her - an allegation he has also denied.

The government has now filed charges with the High Court, saying Akpoti-Uduaghan's assassination allegation defamed Akpabio and Bello.

In the charge sheet, seen by the BBC, Nigeria's attorney general referenced a live interview broadcast by Nigeria's Channels TV last month.

In the interview, Akpoti-Uduaghan spoke of "discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello... to eliminate me".

The attorney general said this statement, and others made in the same broadcast, could harm Bello and Akpabio's reputations.

Akpoti-Uduaghan has not responded publicly to the charges against her and no date has been set for her to appear in court.

The case marks the latest twist in a row that has engrossed Nigeria, raising questions about gender equality in the socially conservative nation.

Akpoti-Uduaghan is one of just four women out of 109 senators.

After accusing Akabio of sexual harassment in February, she was suspended from the Senate for six months without pay.

The Senate's ethics committee said the suspension was for her "unruly and disruptive" behaviour while the Senate was debating her allegations.

However, Akpoti-Uduaghan and her supporters argued that the committee was targeting her because of the allegations she had made against the senate president.

In March, she told the BBC she felt the Senate "operates like a cult". She also said that because her security detail had been removed, she feared for the safety of her two-year-old child.

By Wedaeli Chibelushi & Chukwunaeme Obiejesi, BBC

Related story: Nigerian Senate is run like a cult', suspended MP tells BBC

Nigeria's Dangote refinery agrees to export polypropylene with Vinmar

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals said it will partner with Vinmar Group, an international petrochemicals distribution company, to bring Dangote polypropylene to global markets.

Dangote’s $2 billion Petrochemical Plant in Lagos with 830MT tonnes capacity, began producing polypropylene in March, in 25kg bags for the local market.

"We’re pleased to partner Vinmar to introduce Dangote Polypropylene to the global markets," said Fatima Aliko Dangote, an executive director at Dangote Group at the launch of the facility on Wednesday.

Nigeria currently imports 90% of its annual polypropylene requirements amounting to 250,000 metric tonnes per year. The Dangote facility seeks to not only meet local demand but become a net exporter
Fully operational, the facility is set to become Africa’s largest polypropylene production site, producing from two polypropylene units with capacities of 500,000 mt/year and 330,000 mt/year.

By Isaac Anyaogu, Reuters

Dangote could have made $120b from big tech, but he chose to build for Nigeria

 

The Nigerian government has praised billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote for prioritising national development over potential windfalls from global tech investments, in a tribute that stresses the importance of the $19 billion Dangote Refinery.

Speaking at the opening of the Taraba International Investment Summit 2025 in Jalingo, Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Tinubu, stressed that business mogul Aliko Dangote could have chosen to channel his resources into lucrative international companies like Microsoft, Amazon, or Google.

“I want to celebrate the greatest black man in the last 300 years, who single-handedly established the largest single train refinery in the world..."

“He started this project in 2007/2008. If he had invested the $19 billion that it took him to set up the Dangote Refinery in Microsoft, in Amazon, in Google, he is going to be worth $120 billion now,"

“But he decided to invest in his own country. Alhaji Aliko Dangote, we are mightily proud of you,” he said.

He emphasised that Nigeria’s economic transformation must start at the grassroots level and be powered by locally sourced resources.

Dangote Refinery

The Dangote Refinery, the largest single-train oil refinery globally and the biggest in Africa, marks Aliko Dangote’s most ambitious project yet. Dangote’s net worth doubled to $28 billion last year following the launch of the Refinery. This milestone not only boosted his wealth from about $13 billion but also solidified his position as Africa’s richest man.

Designed to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the refinery is expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products, a long-standing issue in Africa’s biggest oil-producing nation.

Although delayed for several years, the Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest, built by the continent’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, officially began production of diesel, naphtha, and jet fuel in January last year, followed by petrol production in September.

The massive facility surpasses the capacity of Europe’s 10 largest refineries. According to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Dangote's oil push in Nigeria is already starting to disrupt the European oil market.

Economists suggest that the Dangote refinery could potentially end the long-standing gasoline trade from Europe to Africa, which is valued at $17 billion annually.

By Adekunle Agbetiloye, Business Insider Africa

Related story: Dangote’s fight for Nigeria’s oil future continues as he vows to defeat the cabal