Dubai's flagship carrier Emirates has announced a suspension of flights to and from Nigeria from June 21, 2021.
“In line with government directives, passenger flights to and from Nigeria (Lagos and Abuja) are suspended with effect from 21 June 2021 until further notice,” it said in a statement.
“Customers travelling to and from Lagos and Abuja will not be accepted for travel. Customers who have been to or connected through Nigeria in the last 14 days are not permitted to board from any other point to the UAE,” said the statement posted on its website.
The Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai on Saturday eased travel rules for inbound passengers arriving from India, South Africa and Nigeria.
“We regret the inconvenience caused, and affected customers should contact their booking agent or Emirates call centre for rebooking. Emirates remains committed to Nigeria, and we look forward to resuming passenger services when conditions allow,” Emirates said.
Monday, June 21, 2021
Emirates suspends Nigeria passenger flights until further notice
Three students dead after Nigeria school kidnapping, says principal
Three children have died following a school kidnapping of 94 students and eight staff in northwest Nigeria this week, the establishment’s principal said on Sunday. read more
The army said in a statement it had rescued three teachers and eight students so far, killing one of the kidnappers.
There have been a series of kidnappings for ransom in northern Nigeria, with a sharp rise in abductions since late 2020 as the government struggles to maintain law and order amid a flagging economy.
Two girls and a boy were found dead, two with gunshot wounds in their legs, said Mustapha Yusuf, principal of the federal government college in the remote town of Birnin Yauri in northwest Nigeria's Kebbi state.
The kidnappers "have been taking cover under the students ... They are in the bush," he said, adding that bandits had used students' phones to call parents and demand a 60 million naira ($146,341) ransom.
By Garba Muhammad and Libby George
Friday, June 18, 2021
Video - Nigeria's Twitter ban leaves businesses in the lurch
Scores of small and medium-sized businesses across Africa's most populous nation and largest economy are reeling from the indefinite suspension of the social media site. The West African nation announced the suspension on June 4, days after the platform removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional separatists. Most telecommunications sites have since blocked access.
Policeman killed, more than 80 students abducted in attack on Nigerian school
Gunmen killed a police officer and kidnapped at least 80 students and five teachers from a school in the Nigerian state of Kebbi, police, residents and a teacher said.
The attack is the third mass kidnapping in three weeks in northwest Nigeria, which have authorities have attributed to armed bandits seeking ransom payments.
Usman Aliyu, a teacher at the school, said the gunmen took more than 80 students, most of them girls.
"They killed one of the (police officers), broke through the gate and went straight to the students' classes," he told Reuters.
Kebbi State police spokesman Nafiu Abubakar, said the gunmen killed one officer during an exchange and also shot a student, who was receiving medical treatment.
Police late on Thursday had not released the number of students missing, and a spokesman for the Kebbi state governor said they were conducting a tally of the missing.
The attack took place at a federal government college in the remote town of Birnin Yauri. Abubakar said security forces were searching a nearby forest for the abducted students and teachers.
Atiku Aboki, a resident who went to the school shortly after the gunfire stopped, said he saw a scene of panic and confusion as people searched for their children.
"When we got there we saw students crying, teachers crying, everyone is sympathising with people," he said by telephone.
"Everyone was confused. Then my brother called me (to say) that his two children have not been seen and (we) don't know if they are among the kidnapped."
Bandits seeking ransom have kidnapped more than 800 Nigerian students from their schools since December in a series of raids. Some have been freed while others remain missing.
The raids in the northwestern region are separate from Islamist insurgencies centred on the northeast, where the Boko Haram militant group made global headlines in 2014 when it abducted more than 270 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok.
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Video - Nigeria's Buhari says border closure failed to restrict illegal weapons
Last month, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari surprised many when he said an 18-month border closure to restrict illegal weapons had failed. The land border had been shut since 2019 - but Buhari said illicit arms have continued to flow into the country - raising numerous conflicts. Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris reports from Seme - a town on the border between Nigeria and Benin.