Militants kill 37 villagers in latest attack in Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Extremists in northeastern Nigeria killed at least 37 villagers in two different attacks, residents said Wednesday, highlighting once again how deadly islamic extremist rebels have remained in their 14-year insurgency in the hard-hit region.

The extremists targeted villagers in Yobe state’s Geidam district on Monday and Tuesday in the first attack in the state in more than a year, shooting dead 17 people at first while using a land mine to kill 20 others who had gone to attend their burial, witnesses said.

The Boko Haram Islamic extremist group launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 in an effort to establish their radical interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, in the region. At least 35,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million displaced due to the extremist violence concentrated in Borno state, which neighbors Yobe.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who took office in May, has not succeeded in ending the nation’s security crises both in the northeast and in northwest and central regions where dozens of armed groups have been killing villagers and kidnapping travelers for ransom.

The first attack occurred in the remote Gurokayeya village in Geidam when gunmen opened fire on some villagers late Monday, killing 17 of them, according to Shaibu Babagana, a resident in the area. At least 20 villagers who had gone to attend their burial were then killed on Tuesday when they drove into a land mine that exploded, Babagana added.

Idris Geidam, another resident, said those killed were more than 40. Authorities could not provide the official death toll, as is sometimes the case following such attacks.

“This is one of the most horrific attacks by Boko Haram in recent times. For a burial group to be attacked shortly after the loss of their loved ones is beyond horrific,” Geidam said.

The Yobe state government on Wednesday summoned an emergency security meeting over the attacks which it blamed on extremists that entered the state from the neighboring Borno.

“The security agencies have deployed security men to the area and we are studying a report on the infiltration in an effort to stave off future occurrences,” Abdulsalam Dahiru, a Yobe government security aide, told reporters.

By Haruna Umar, AP 

President Tinubu seeks Senate approval to borrow $8 billion

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday asked the Senate to approve nearly $8 billion in new debt as part of a 2022-24 external borrowing plan to finance infrastructure, health, education and security.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer, has been relying increasingly on debt due to lower tax collections and lower oil exports, its biggest foreign currency earner.

In a letter to the Senate, Tinubu requested $7.86 billion and 100 million euros ($105.40 million) but did not say where the money would come from.

Nigeria has raised money in international credit markets, including through eurobonds, and borrowed from lenders like the World Bank and African Development Bank for budget support.

"In view of the present economic realities facing the country, it has become imperative to use the external borrowing to bridge the financing gap which will be applied to key infrastructure projects including power, railway, health among others," said Tinubu.

The government has said it wants to encourage investments rather than rely on borrowing to create jobs and build infrastructure.

The Senate and House of Assembly are considering a supplementary budget of 2.176 trillion naira ($2.8 billion) to fund "urgent issues" including defence and security.

Nigeria's cabinet two weeks ago approved 26.01 trillion naira ($34 billion) for next year's budget, of which about a third is earmarked for interest payments.

Some 40% of Nigeria's total debt is external. 

By MacDonald Dzirutwe, Reuters

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17 killed by militants in Nigeria for failing to pay 'cattle tax'

Jihadists affiliated to the Islamic State group killed 17 people in a raid on a remote village in northeast Nigeria after villagers refused to pay an illicit tax, anti-jihadist militia and a resident told AFP Tuesday.

Scores of fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) stormed the remote farming and herding village of Kayayya in Yobe State late on Monday, 150 kilometres from the state capital Damaturu, hurling explosives and opening fire, the sources said.

"The terrorists attacked the village around 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) with explosives and guns while the residents were chatting away the night," said Gremah Bukar, a militia member who assists the military fighting the jihadists.

"They then opened fire on those residents who tried to flee. They killed 17 people and injured five others," Bukar said.

According to a Yobe state police report, 20 people were killed and parts of the village razed before the militants fled. A Yobe state security official did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.

The attack was in response to the villagers' refusal to pay jihadists a tax they demanded on cattle, Abubakar Adamu, said another militia member who gave the same toll.

Militants and armed groups in remote parts of Nigeria sometimes demand "taxes" on communities as a way to exercise control and raise funds.

Babagana Kyari, a resident of Geidam town, said the five injured in the Kayayya attack were taken to the general hospital in the town for medical attention.

"One of the injured victims said the ISWAP insurgents attacked the village because they told them they would not pay the cattle levy they imposed on the village," said Kyari who visited the injured at the hospital.

A Yobe state police report said 20 people were killed and that parts of the village were razed before the militants fled.

Over the last two years, jihadists have carried out attacks beyond their stronghold in northeast Borno State, the heart of the country's 14-year-long Islamist militant conflict.

Yobe, Borno state's immediate neighbour, has also borne the brunt of the jihadist violence, including deadly raids on villages, military bases, schools and markets, as well as mass abductions.

In April last year, ISWAP jihadists killed 11 people in attacks on bars and a technical college in Geidam, days after six people were killed and 16 injured in an explosion targeting another bar in northeastern Taraba state.

On Wednesday ISWAP claimed responsibility for an explosion at a bar in northeast Taraba state the day before which local police said killed six people and injured 16 others.

Nigeria's jihadist conflict has killed 40,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes in the northeast since it erupted in 2009, according to the UN.

AFP