Video - Boko Haram captive's mother appeals to the government for help

In Nigeria, the mother of a kidnapped teenager, Leah Sharibu, has appealed to the government to secure her release, ahead of the deadline given by Boko Haram. The 15-year-old was abducted in Yobe State in February, alongside 100 other girls, who've since been released. CGTN's Samson Omale has this exclusive interview with Leah's mother, Rebecca Sharibu.

Airport cleaner in Nigeria rewarded for returning lost valuables

Nigeria’s main airport operator, the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, has rewarded a cleaner who earlier this month found some valuables and returned them to the authorities.

FAAN Managing-Director, Engr. Saleh Dunoma, at a short ceremony presented a Commendation Letter and Plaque to Miss Ishai for her honesty.

Mary Ishai who works for Lakewood company, a cleaning contractor at the Abuja airport found and returned different cash sums, passports, ATM cards and bag claim tags.

“She found the following valuable items in the toilet: $2,000, $140 Canadian, eight pieces of coins, N21,850, two international passports, four ATM cards, four bus cards and baggage claim tags. The owner, an employee of Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Imade Uhunwagho, has since collected his valuables,” FAAN said in a tweet of September 11.

Her story comes on the back of a similar action by two guards at Nigeria’s Muratala Muhammed International Airport.

The two, junior security guard Achi Daniel and his supervisor Francis Emepueaku, according to the federal airports authority, returned a forgotten bag with large sums of money and expensive items. The two, work at the multi-level car park at the Lagos airport.

Their action has been lauded by most Nigerians including President Muhammadu Buhari who is quoted as saying: “Honesty remains the best policy. We must exhibit such behaviour in whatever position we find ourselves, whether high or low.

“Nigeria will no longer be a byword for corruption and plundering of public resources. That is the path we have chosen to take, and our country will eventually get to a new shore,” he added.

“If the money was in multi-millions of foreign currencies I would still have returned it,” Mr Daniel told Sahara Reporters. “No amount of money would make me to take what doesn’t belong to me,” he retorted to calls that he should or could have kept the money.

According to him, despite attempts by the owners of the bag to reward them with money, they refused the offer insisting that they “were just doing their job.” Reports say both men have been awarded by their security company with education scholarships worth 250,000 Naira ($686).

Africa News

Video - Nigerian authorities warn of possible disease outbreak due to floods

Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control is warning of possible outbreaks of water-borne diseases like cholera and malaria. A national disaster has been declared after heavy rains caused widespread flooding in more than 10 states. At least 100 people have died and more than 3-hundred thousand displaced.

Video - "Emekas Money" a Nigerian story on corruption

In Nigeria, one organisation has launched a book aimed at tackling corruption. It's being marketed for young people, with the idea of shaping mindsets from an early age. "Emeka's Money" tells the story of a corrupt government official and the negative impact his actions have on society.

Pirates kidnap 12 swiss crew members from commercial ship

Twelve crew members of a Swiss commercial ship have been taken hostage by pirates who attacked the vessel as it sailed off the coast of Nigeria.

Massoel Shipping said in a statement Sunday that the ship MV Glarus, with 19 crew on board, was attacked as it was carrying wheat from the Nigerian commercial capital Lagos to Port Harcourt.

Reuters news agency reported late Sunday the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) had identified the nationalities of the kidnapped crew. It said seven crew members were from the Philippines and others were from Slovenia, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia and Bosnia.

Nigerian officials said the 12 were still unaccounted for.

Massoel Shipping said the vessel was attacked around 45 nautical miles southwest of Bonny Island early Saturday.

"It is understood the pirate gang boarded the Glarus by means of long ladders and cut the razor wire on deck to gain access to the vessel and eventually the bridge," the company said. "Having destroyed much of the vessel's communications equipment, the criminal gang departed, taking 12 of the 19 crew complement as hostage."

Piracy has been rising in the southern Niger Delta region in the past few years, along with the number sailors kidnapped for ransom.

According to a study published by the EOS Risk Group in July, the number of kidnappings in the region rose from 52 in 2016 to 75 last year. In the first half of this year, pirated kidnapped 35 sailors, it said.

VOA