At least 15 people, mostly children, have been killed by a cholera outbreak in Nigeria's north central Plateau state, according to a lawmaker.
"It is true that as of Monday, around 15 people have died from a new cholera outbreak in Langtang," Godfrey Lamdip, a lawmaker from the area, told Anadolu Agency over the phone on Wednesday afternoon.
"I have brought this issue to the attention of my colleagues and we have liaised with the state government to intervene to address the outbreak," Lamdip said.
The lawmaker added that a government delegation has visited Kantam and Filam, the two villages affected by the outbreak.
"Many people have now been admitted for treatment so we are on top of the situation," he said.
Joseph Wuyep, a resident of Kantam, said at least nine people had been killed in the village since the outbreak started two weeks ago.
"The problem is the water. We drink polluted water. We do not have good water and we have called on the government to help us. We drink from the stream which is polluted by animals, among other things," Wuyep, a school teacher, told Anadolu Agency.
"Six of the nine victims are children who died after protracted defecation and vomiting," he said.
Cholera outbreaks are very common in remote parts of Nigeria, where safe drinkable water is hard to come by and many residents make do with water from rivers which are often polluted by grazing cattle.
Most locals also wash their clothes in the same streams from which they drink.
Experts say poverty and poor hygiene are the most prominent causes of the repeated outbreaks, especially in the north and some parts of the south.
Dozens were killed in a number of cholera outbreaks in many parts of the northern and southeast regions last year.
World Bulletin
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Video - Interview with Boko Haram victim forced to marry or be killed
When “Miriam” was kidnapped by Boko Haram she was told she had the choice of marrying a member of the militant group’s fighters or being killed. She was repeatedly raped by the man she was forced to marry. But after she became pregnant she managed to escape. Miriam is one of more than 2000 women and girls have been abducted in North East Nigeria by the militant group Boko Haram since the start of 2014.
Video - rise in female suicide bombers in Nigeria
Nigerian authorities in the country are in a dilemma over how to deal with Boko Haram's use of young, naive girls in their suicide bombing campaigns. Analysts say the huge number of uneducated girls from impoverished families in the north has made them vulnerable to manipulation by Boko Haram. The Government now faces the challenging task of reversing this trend.
Arrest made in the kidnap of school girls in Nigeria
Nigerian troops have arrested a businessman accused of "participating actively" in Boko Haram's mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls from the northeastern town of Chibok last year, Nigeria's Defence Ministry said Tuesday.
Spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade said Babuji Ya'ari headed a "terrorists' intelligence cell" for the Islamic extremists while masquerading as a member of the self-defence Youth Vigilante Group. That confirms suspicions that the vigilantes have been infiltrated by Boko Haram. Soldiers have told the AP that some of their comrades also belong to Nigeria's homegrown Islamic extremist group.
"The arrest of the businessman ... has also yielded some vital information and facilitated the arrest of other members of the terrorists' intelligence cell who are women," Olukolade said in a statement Tuesday night. He did not say when the arrests were made or how many people were arrested.
He alleged that Ya'ari has since 2011 co-ordinated several deadly attacks on the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, and spearheaded the May 2014 assassination of the emir of Gwoza, a religious and traditional ruler who was targeted for speaking out against Boko Haram's extremism.
One arrested woman, Hafsat Bako, confessed to co-ordinating the payroll for operatives paid a minimum of 10,000 naira (about $50) a job, the defence ministry statement said.
Boko Haram was responsible for the April 2014 kidnapping of 273 girls from a boarding school in Chibok. Dozens escaped but 219 schoolgirls remain missing. The mass abduction sparked international outrage and demands for the girls' release under the Twitter hashtag .BringBackOurGirls.
The extremists last year took control of a large swath of northeastern Nigeria where they declared an Islamic caliphate. This year, they became the West African franchise of the Islamic State group.
As their attacks spread across borders, a multinational army from Nigeria and neighbouring countries mobilized and this year drove Boko Haram out of towns. Suicide bomb and attacks on villages continue.
AP
Related story: Video - Aljazeera speaks with the few schoolgirls that escaped from Boko Haram
Spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade said Babuji Ya'ari headed a "terrorists' intelligence cell" for the Islamic extremists while masquerading as a member of the self-defence Youth Vigilante Group. That confirms suspicions that the vigilantes have been infiltrated by Boko Haram. Soldiers have told the AP that some of their comrades also belong to Nigeria's homegrown Islamic extremist group.
"The arrest of the businessman ... has also yielded some vital information and facilitated the arrest of other members of the terrorists' intelligence cell who are women," Olukolade said in a statement Tuesday night. He did not say when the arrests were made or how many people were arrested.
He alleged that Ya'ari has since 2011 co-ordinated several deadly attacks on the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, and spearheaded the May 2014 assassination of the emir of Gwoza, a religious and traditional ruler who was targeted for speaking out against Boko Haram's extremism.
One arrested woman, Hafsat Bako, confessed to co-ordinating the payroll for operatives paid a minimum of 10,000 naira (about $50) a job, the defence ministry statement said.
Boko Haram was responsible for the April 2014 kidnapping of 273 girls from a boarding school in Chibok. Dozens escaped but 219 schoolgirls remain missing. The mass abduction sparked international outrage and demands for the girls' release under the Twitter hashtag .BringBackOurGirls.
The extremists last year took control of a large swath of northeastern Nigeria where they declared an Islamic caliphate. This year, they became the West African franchise of the Islamic State group.
As their attacks spread across borders, a multinational army from Nigeria and neighbouring countries mobilized and this year drove Boko Haram out of towns. Suicide bomb and attacks on villages continue.
AP
Related story: Video - Aljazeera speaks with the few schoolgirls that escaped from Boko Haram
87 percent of Nigerians oppose gay rights
A new opinion poll suggests that 87% of people in Nigeria support the legal ban on same-sex relations.
That number is lower than five years ago, when 96% of Nigerians opposed relationships between same-sex couples.
Gay rights activists, who commissioned the poll, said this showed attitudes towards gay people were changing, albeit slowly.
Nigeria is a deeply conservative country and religion plays a major role in society.
The government tightened anti-gay laws last year, banning same-sex marriages, gay groups and shows of same-sex public affection.
'Progress'
Campaigners say the laws are among the most draconian anywhere - and impose a sentence of up to 14 years in prison for same-sex couples.
About 1,000 people across Nigeria took part in the telephone poll which was commissioned by gay rights groups, including the Bisi Alimi Foundation.
Only about one in six people said they knew someone who was openly homosexual, reports the BBC's Will Ross from Nigeria's main city, Lagos.
However, the number almost doubled for people in their late teens and early twenties.
About 30% of respondents said gay, lesbian and bisexual people should have access to public services such as education and healthcare.
Gay activists, including the Bisi Alimi Foundation, see this as progress, our correspondent says.
They believe the survey shows that the tide is slowly turning towards acceptance. Nevertheless, Nigeria remains a dangerous place for people to come out, our correspondent adds.
BBC
Related stories: Video - Nigeria's anti-gay law denounced
Being gay in Nigeria
Video - CNN covers anti-gay law in Nigeria
That number is lower than five years ago, when 96% of Nigerians opposed relationships between same-sex couples.
Gay rights activists, who commissioned the poll, said this showed attitudes towards gay people were changing, albeit slowly.
Nigeria is a deeply conservative country and religion plays a major role in society.
The government tightened anti-gay laws last year, banning same-sex marriages, gay groups and shows of same-sex public affection.
'Progress'
Campaigners say the laws are among the most draconian anywhere - and impose a sentence of up to 14 years in prison for same-sex couples.
About 1,000 people across Nigeria took part in the telephone poll which was commissioned by gay rights groups, including the Bisi Alimi Foundation.
Only about one in six people said they knew someone who was openly homosexual, reports the BBC's Will Ross from Nigeria's main city, Lagos.
However, the number almost doubled for people in their late teens and early twenties.
About 30% of respondents said gay, lesbian and bisexual people should have access to public services such as education and healthcare.
Gay activists, including the Bisi Alimi Foundation, see this as progress, our correspondent says.
They believe the survey shows that the tide is slowly turning towards acceptance. Nevertheless, Nigeria remains a dangerous place for people to come out, our correspondent adds.
BBC
Related stories: Video - Nigeria's anti-gay law denounced
Being gay in Nigeria
Video - CNN covers anti-gay law in Nigeria
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