Flooding in Nigeria leaves at least 100 dead

More than 100 people have died in floods after Nigeria's two major rivers burst their banks, authorities say.

The National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) says heavy rains caused the Niger River and Benue River to overflow.

It has resulted in a series of floods across the country over two weeks, with rural areas most vulnerable.

The government is urging residents along waterways to relocate to safe places.

Thousands of people have been displaced and vast swathes of farmlands have been destroyed by the floods in central and southern Nigeria, says the BBC's Is'haq Khalid in the capital, Abuja.

Worst hit is Niger State, where more than 40 people have died, Nema director Mustapha Yunusa Maihaja told the BBC.

Eleven other states have been affected - they are Kwara, Benue, Kogi, Adamawa, Taraba, Kebbi, Bayelsa, Edo, Anambra, Rivers and Delta.

Nigerian authorities are considering declaring a state of emergency, saying more floods could hit in the coming days and weeks as heavy rains continue.

Nigeria faces flooding almost every year.

Analysts blame recurring flood disasters on lack of proper town planning, blocked waterways and poor drainage systems.

BBC

Nigeria's Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun resigns

Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, has resigned sources close to her told Daily Trust.

It is not clear when she submitted her resignation letter.

According to our source, the resignation followed the allegation of not serving the compulsory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, and obtaining a certificate that the NYSC have disowned.

The minister felt that her position is becoming untenable and is hurting the President in the run up to the 2019 election.

Daily Trust

Nigeria appoints new head of intelligence

Nigeria has appointed a new head of the country's intelligence agency, after his predecessor was sacked when security operatives blockaded parliament.

The presidency said on Thursday evening that Yusuf Magaji Bichi has taken over from Lawal Musa Daura as director-general of the Department of State Services.

Daura -- a key ally of President Muhammadu Buhari -- was dismissed after ordering what the government called the "unauthorised takeover" of the National Assembly in early August.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said at the time the actions, which prevented lawmakers from entering parliament, were "a gross violation of constitutional order" and the rule of law.

The DSS under Daura was often accused of high-handedness and abuses against perceived political opponents of the Buhari administration.

The blockade came after the leader of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, defected to the main opposition from the ruling party.

Saraki, who has been at loggerheads with the executive since he took up the post in 2015, has since declared his intention to stand for president next year.

Buhari's office said the new spy chief was a "core secret service operative" who began his career with the Nigerian Security Organisation (NSO), the forerunner of the DSS.

Nigeria is facing multiple security threats, including from Boko Haram, where there is mounting concern about its IS-backed faction after a string of recent attacks on the military.

Security services are also stretched by a flare-up of violence in the long-running resources conflict between farmers and herders in central states.

There remain lingering threats to oil and gas infrastructure from militants in the southern Niger Delta region.

AFP

Gunmen in Nigeria kill 11 people in a cinema

Gunmen have attacked a cinema in Nigeria's north-western Zamfara State, killing 11 people and injuring more than 20, witnesses and hospital sources told the BBC.

The suspected armed bandits opened fire at a village hall, where residents gather at night to watch films.

The cinema-goers panicked, many escaped with multiple gunshot wounds or broken bones, according to witnesses.

Amnesty International has warned about the escalating violence in the area.

It is not clear why the cinema was targeted, but villages in Zamfara State have come under heavy attack from armed bandits in recent months.

Witnesses say the attackers arrived in the village of Badarawa on foot on 12 September before heading to the hall, known as a viewing centre.

Hospital sources says some of the victims' injuries are life-threatening, while the dead have already been buried.

The police say security personnel have been deployed to track down the assailants.

Nearly 400 people have been killed in the state this year amid an increase in robbery, killings, and kidnappings for ransom, according to the rights group Amnesty.

BBC

Nigeria has best economy in Africa according to Forbes

A major research firm, Forbes Africa has rated Nigeria as the 2018 best economy in Africa.

According to Forbes, Nigeria came top with $172 billion, which was followed by South Africa with $166.735 billion. Also on the list was Egypt as third with $78 billion, Algeria with $66, Libya :$65, Botswana: $22.675, Ghana :$20.458 Morocco :$18, Ivory Coast :$11 and Madagascar with $6.766 billion.

Nigeria’s West-African neighbours, Ghana, is seventh with $20.458, Morocco is eighth with $18 billion, Ivory Coast is ninth with $11 billion while Madagascar is tenth with $6.766 billion.

Vanguard