Dangote Refinery resumes petrol loading in naira at N1,215/litre

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has resumed gantry loading of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, in naira after a week-long suspension, ending uncertainty in the downstream sector over its temporary shift to dollar-denominated sales.

Checks by Vanguard showed that the refinery has fixed its new ex-depot (gantry) price at N1,215 per litre, representing an increase of N140 per litre, or 13.02 per cent, from the previous price of N1,075 per litre.

The increase in the gantry price is directly linked to the sharp rally in global crude oil prices, which has raised the cost of producing refined petroleum products, including petrol, diesel and aviation fuel, heightening concerns over fresh fuel price hikes in Nigeria and other oil-importing countries.

Market data on Wednesday showed that Brent crude, the international benchmark against which Nigeria’s crude is priced, climbed 3.18 per cent to $93.90 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 2.74 per cent to $86.65 per barrel.

The price adjustment also comes at a time when domestic petrol prices have already risen sharply following increases in ex-depot prices by major suppliers, raising fears of another round of increases at filling stations.

The resumption of naira-denominated truck loading is expected to improve product availability after supply disruptions caused by the suspension.

Industry sources confirmed that marketers had been notified of the resumption of gantry operations, with loading set to commence immediately under the revised naira pricing structure.

The development comes barely 24 hours after the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery resumed coastal loading of petrol at a higher price.

Checks showed that the refinery increased its coastal loading price to $1,161.23 per metric tonne, from $1,044.62 per metric tonne, representing an 11.2 per cent increase.

The refinery’s return to naira pricing for truck loading follows several days of uncertainty in the downstream petroleum market after the suspension forced many independent marketers to source products from private depots.

The disruption tightened supply and pushed ex-depot petrol prices in Lagos to as high as N1,275 per litre, compared with Dangote Refinery’s previous gantry price of N1,075 per litre before sales were suspended.

Before halting product loading, Dangote Refinery attributed the suspension to challenges in securing adequate crude oil supplies under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude initiative, prompting its temporary switch to dollar-denominated sales.

The refinery’s decision to restore naira transactions is expected to ease supply constraints in the inland market and improve the nationwide distribution of petroleum products.

Already, petrol prices at depots across Nigeria recorded fresh increases on Wednesday, while diesel prices surged sharply in several locations, signaling renewed cost pressures for fuel marketers and transport operators.

Mid-day depot price data for July 22, 2026 showed that the depot price of petrol, rising across major supply hubs including Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar, with some depots raising prices by as much as N87 per litre.

The sharpest increase was recorded at Bulk Strategic Reserve in Lagos, where the ex-depot petrol price jumped by N87 per litre to N1,350 from N1,263.

The increase places the depot among the highest-priced suppliers in the country and could influence retail pump prices if sustained.

Other Lagos depots posted more modest increases. Liquid Bulk, Masters Energy, Matrix and Sigmund all raised petrol prices by between N15 and N17 per litre to N1,280, while TSL did not quote a new price.

Meanwhile, fresh increases in the pump price of petrol, to an average of N1,350 per litre from N1,260 per litre across filling stations in Lagos and its environs have heightened concerns over the rising cost of living, with millions of Nigerians expected to face higher transportation, food and business costs.

Checks by Vanguard showed several retail outlets adjusted their pump prices to between N1,300 per litre and N1,400 per litre following increases in ex-depot prices by depot owners, pushing fuel costs to their highest levels in recent months.

By Udeme Akpan, Vanguard

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Armed attackers kill more than 20 in northwest Nigeria

At least 20 people have been killed in northwest Nigeria after armed gang members attacked villages in Zamfara State, according to the AFP news agency.

“Today, between 3pm [14:00 GMT] and 4pm [15:00 GMT], a large number of bandits have invaded our communities, targeting all the people they meet,” Nasiru Lauwali, the representative of the Sauna district in the local government zone of Talata Mafara, told AFP on Wednesday.

The attacks come amid increasing violence in northwest and central Nigeria, where armed gangs or bandits have raided villages in recent weeks. They are accused of stealing livestock and kidnapping residents for ransom.

Late on Tuesday, at least three suspected bandits were killed by security forces in the country’s Kwara State, according to Nigeria’s The Punch news website. The news service said that security forces managed to rescue a businessman, Tuhkur Sanni.

Kidnappings have become common in Nigeria, as armed groups seek large ransoms from the government and citizens.

The situation has been worsened by a security crisis, partly fuelled by the Boko Haram rebellion in the country’s northeast. In 2024, attackers earned more than $1.6m in ransom payments, according to SBM Intelligence.

Dozens of students and teachers were rescued earlier this month, 56 days after they were kidnapped from three schools in the southwestern state of Oyo.

Eight of the suspected kidnappers were arrested and an unspecified number were killed, according to a statement issued by President Bola Tinubu.

Defence Minister Christopher Musa said the suspects planned to use the hostages as leverage to pressure the government to release some of their commanders from prison.

AFP

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Nigeria arrested suspected terrorists returning from Hajj. But several questions are unanswered

The atmosphere inside the international arrivals terminal at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina was one of celebration. Families stood behind security barriers waiting to embrace relatives returning from Saudi Arabia after completing the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage. Airport officials moved methodically through familiar administrative routines, and returning pilgrims wheeled their luggage toward the main arrival hall after presenting their travel documents for standard border clearance.

Then, without warning to the waiting crowd, the routine changed.

As passengers stepped forward one after another for immigration clearance, border control officers quietly isolated seven men from the rest of the arriving passengers. There was no public commotion, no shouting, and no dramatic confrontation inside the terminal. The men were discreetly separated from the other pilgrims, escorted out of public view under heavy security detail, and placed in immediate custody.

Within hours, the seven detainees were moved out of the airport under armed escort and subsequently flown to Abuja, where they were handed over to the State Security Service (SSS).

Days later, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made a public announcement that transformed the quiet airport operation into a subject of intense national debate. The minister stated that security agencies had intercepted seven suspected commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP who had returned from the Hajj through the Katsina airport.

Nigeria faces several types of terrorism from groups like ISWAP, Boko Haram, and bandits. Several groups of bandits operate in Katsina, where thousands of people have been killed or kidnapped in recent years.

The government presented the arrests as evidence of Nigeria’s expanding digital border management capabilities, highlighting technical advancements in biometric identity verification and real-time intelligence coordination among security agencies.

As of the time of publishing this story, neither the federal government nor the SSS has publicly released the identities of the seven suspects or announced any criminal charges against them.

While the minister’s announcement generated major headlines across the country, it also left behind a series of fundamental questions. The most critical question raised by the operation is not how the men were apprehended upon their return, but how they managed to leave Nigeria in the first place.

Unlike some transnational criminals who utilise forged travel documents, stolen identities, or clandestine border crossings, immigration officials familiar with the operation confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the seven suspects travelled using valid Nigerian international passports issued in their own legal names and identities.

The seven men completed all official Hajj travel procedures before leaving Nigeria. This paradox raises difficult accountability questions extending far beyond the immediate fate of the seven suspects: What specific security screening protocols exist before an intending pilgrim is cleared to leave Nigeria? Which institutions bear the statutory responsibility for identifying registration applicants who are already on national security watchlists? Did the intelligence identifying these suspects emerge only while they were overseas, or were crucial opportunities to intercept them missed before they boarded their outbound flight? Most fundamentally, where does administrative accountability reside among the overlapping state and federal institutions that coordinate one of Nigeria’s largest annual international migrations?

Over several days of field reporting, PREMIUM TIMES interviewed security personnel familiar with the airport operation, spoke with anonymous policy and intelligence sources, questioned civil society leaders, and visited the headquarters of the Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board. PREMIUM TIMES also reviewed official government statements, examined the administrative mechanics of the annual Hajj workflow, and sought clarifications from every primary institution involved.

What emerged was a fragmented institutional picture. Federal authorities describe the operation as a successful intelligence-led border interdiction enabled by integrated digital systems, while civil society groups argue it exposed weaknesses in pre-departure vetting. Several of the institutions responsible for processing intending pilgrims either declined to explain their screening procedures or failed to answer key questions.

Rather than determining the guilt or innocence of the suspects, this investigation examines how those institutional responsibilities intersect and where accountability for pre-departure screening ultimately lies.

How the Hajj Vetting and Registration System Works

To evaluate how the seven suspects departed the country, it is first necessary to reconstruct the structured administrative process that an ordinary citizen must follow to perform the annual pilgrimage under Nigeria’s official framework.

Travelling for Hajj is not a simple commercial transaction; for the vast majority of Nigerian Muslims, it is a months-long, highly regulated bureaucratic process involving shared responsibilities among state governments, federal agencies, and Saudi Arabian authorities.

The operational chain begins at the grassroots level under the direct control of state agencies, such as the Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board, where designated Hajj officials receive applications and guide prospective pilgrims through the registration process. Following seasonal consultations with Saudi Arabian authorities, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) sets and announces the official annual Hajj fare, which covers airfare, accommodation in Mecca and Medina, meals, local transport, and associated logistics.

Prospective pilgrims must deposit this approved fare, which has risen sharply in recent years to between seven and eight million Naira due to macroeconomic inflation and exchange rate fluctuations, directly into the state board’s designated bank accounts.

Once financial obligations are satisfied, the applicant proceeds to the documentation stage. Interviews with Hajj stakeholders and border control officials indicate that the international passport has become the centralised identity document underpinning the entire modern registration workflow. Unlike in previous decades, when multiple separate supporting identity documents and physical clearance forms were collected manually by local boards, the vast majority of an applicant’s personal information, including biometric data and National Identification Numbers (NIN), is now embedded directly within the passport itself following enrollment by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

Once local documentation closes, the state pilgrims welfare board compiles the names of qualified applicants from across its local government areas into a comprehensive statewide register. This unified list is transmitted to NAHCON headquarters in Abuja for national coordination.

NAHCON subsequently uploads the pilgrims’ data into Saudi Arabia’s electronic Hajj portal, through which the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah issues the mandatory entry visas electronically. Only after the electronic visas are approved are the pilgrims assigned to outbound flights, and final passenger manifests are generated for each state delegation, indicating exactly who is cleared to board each charter aircraft.

According to immigration officials who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES anonymously, the NIS’s statutory responsibilities change significantly as the process moves from passport issuance to airport departure clearance. It was learned that the primary daily mandate of officers stationed at the international departure terminals is to enforce immigration laws governing valid exit and entry, establish identity, and verify the physical integrity of travel documents.

Therefore, according to the officers interviewed, immigration officers primarily verify identity and travel documents and rely on intelligence alerts or watchlists supplied through the wider national security system when determining whether a traveller should be intercepted.

An immigration officer stationed in the region explained that their core role at the departure gate is passenger clearance. The source stated that when a traveller presents a passport, biometric verification and document checks are conducted to confirm that the passport is genuine and that the bearer standing before the officer is the legitimate holder of the document.

The official emphasised that routine immigration clearance remains an identity check, whereas the specialised tracking of terrorism suspects or the management of active criminal intelligence falls within the distinct purview of specialised intelligence agencies.

Federal pilgrimage authorities further clarify this division of responsibilities. Contacted by PREMIUM TIMES regarding the boundaries of federal oversight, NAHCON spokesperson Fatima Usara clarified that NAHCON is not statutorily positioned to conduct background checks or profile individual travellers.

Mrs Usara stated that NAHCON does not conduct screening operations, clarifying that such mandates fall squarely on individual state units. According to her, state pilgrims’ welfare boards function as direct operators, handling grouping and overseeing pilgrim manifests, while NAHCON acts strictly as a manager and regulator, tasked with establishing administrative standards, issuing policy statements, and monitoring implementation.

Regarding national security protocols, Mrs Usara added that while NAHCON maintains security agencies as affiliates to assist the matrix, the primary curation of manifests remains decentralised at the state operational level.

This dynamic exposes a critical operational divide. While border immigration personnel at the airport verify identity at the point of international travel and federal regulators monitor compliance with standards, the active vetting of individual backgrounds rests with the state-level frameworks that initially compile the lists. Many states, however, lack the capacity for such vetting, as Nigeria currently operates a unitary security system in which virtually all security agencies are owned and controlled by the federal government.

To understand how the seven suspects passed through these early administrative stages, PREMIUM TIMES visited the Katsina headquarters of the State Pilgrims Welfare Board to obtain an official explanation of the administrative safeguards and background checks built into the pilgrim recruitment process. The board declined to provide details of the process.

During the visit, the Executive Director of the Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Yunusa Dankama, declined to discuss the registration workflow or to explain what protocols exist for cross-referencing applicant lists with national security watchlists.

The official maintained that details regarding the processing of the state’s Hajj delegation are classified information that cannot be disclosed to the public or the press, asserting that such operational transparency is reserved solely for registered, intending pilgrims. He said that the Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board is strictly a logistical and administrative body, not a security agency.

This refusal to disclose the screening workflow leaves a gap in the public’s understanding of the administrative processes. While border security personnel at the airport mapped out their point-of-exit responsibilities, the state institution responsible for processing the applicants, compiling the delegation register, and authorising the final flight manifests declined to explain how its screening safeguards operate before pilgrims reach the tarmac.

One question investigators may still need to answer is whether any local documentation, including letters or clearances issued under regional community peace and amnesty initiatives, formed part of the application process for persons later described by federal authorities as security suspects.

The Outbound Trajectory: Why suspects were not intercepted at departure

The physical operation that culminated in the isolation of the seven suspects at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport unfolded in a matter of minutes during routine arrival clearance. However, the far more significant question confronting investigators and security analysts is why the same security architecture that successfully intercepted the men upon their return permitted them to board their outbound flight weeks earlier.

PREMIUM TIMES sought to resolve this timeline paradox by interviewing border officials and those involved in policy-making and implementation.

According to an immigration officer privy to the airport operation, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, the suspects were not intercepted at the point of departure because the active intelligence process managed from Abuja had not yet reached the legal and operational stage where a physical border interception could be authorised.

The source stated that the investigation was still active during the outbound journey, but before the return flight landed, the intelligence process had matured, the facts were firmly established, and a definitive directive was transmitted from Abuja instructing that specific passengers on the incoming aircraft be apprehended immediately upon arrival.

This explanation was corroborated by a senior official at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, who also provided details off the record.

The official revealed that the suspects’ data profiles had been processed and watchlisted by the NIS Integrated Operations Centre in Abuja before their return. The source indicated that allowing watchlisted individuals to depart can sometimes be part of a calculated tactical surveillance strategy, enabling intelligence agencies to solidify an evidentiary trail or monitor networks while relying on the pilgrimage’s logistical frameworks. Under these operational frameworks, pilgrims are generally scheduled to return through the same airport from which their state delegation departed.

The source, speaking anonymously, stated that the border management platform was fully prepared for their arrival, with the names and biometric profiles circulated to the Katsina Airport Command well before the aircraft entered Nigerian airspace. The source noted that the moment the suspects presented their passports at the arrival clearance desks, the harmonised system triggered an immediate alert, allowing personnel to isolate them quietly without interrupting the clearance of the rest of the flight.

All the officials spoken to confirmed that the seven suspects travelled using valid passports issued under their real names and genuine identities.

However, allowing the terror suspects to travel for Hajj only to arrest them upon their return is a risk. The suspects could have been arrested by Saudi authorities, who in the past have stopped and deported some Nigerian pilgrims despite their clearance by Nigerian authorities. Such a hypothetical arrest by Saudi authorities would have been an embarrassment to Nigeria. Worse is that the suspected terrorists could have chosen to commit acts of terror in Saudi Arabia, which would have significantly damaged Nigeria’s reputation. PREMIUM TIMES tried to put these questions before the SSS, but the agency declined to comment on this report.

While the explanations provided by officials in this report offer an operational account of the timing of the arrests, they leave the broader chronological question unanswered. At what point did the seven suspects first become subjects of security interest to federal intelligence agencies? Was definitive data linking them to insurgent activity available before they applied to join the Katsina State Hajj delegation, or did the information only become available after they left the country?

Local Accountability: Allegations and state responses

The institutional silence surrounding the pre-departure vetting process has fueled intense public debate in Katsina State over how individuals later described by federal authorities as security suspects could successfully clear local registration channels. In the days following the Minister of Interior’s announcement, several regional commentators and social critics publicly raised questions regarding the source of the suspects’ funding and documentation.

Bashir Kurfi, a prominent local social critic, raised questions about whether individuals recently intercepted at the airport had been beneficiaries of official state-funded Hajj, potentially extended as part of local political amnesty and disarmament packages, to incentivise non-state armed actors to lay down their weapons.

In an official statement issued to the press, the Katsina State Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs described the allegations as entirely baseless and devoid of any factual basis. The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasir Mu’azu, added that the claims were politically motivated to undermine the state’s security operations and collaborations with federal forces. The ministry warned that the state government would not hesitate to pursue legal remedies against persons spreading defamatory misinformation.

PREMIUM TIMES found no evidence from the government’s public statements or from officials interviewed during this investigation that the seven detainees were beneficiaries of state-sponsored Hajj. Hajj pilgrims in Nigeria generally fall into three categories: self-funded, funded by a wealthy person, or state-funded.

Beyond the funding allegations, regional civil society organisations argue that the incident has raised questions about whether existing administrative safeguards are adequate to protect the grassroots layer of the pilgrimage administration. Abdulrahman Abdullahi, chairman of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Katsina State, emphasised that the prolonged nature of Hajj logistics makes the lack of pre-departure detection a major public concern.

“An international pilgrimage is not an impromptu journey where a traveller walks into a commercial motor park and boards a vehicle,” Mr Abdulrahaman told PREMIUM TIMES. “The processing of fares, the enrollment of passports, the completion of local documentation, and the mandatory orientation exercises take several weeks or months. If individuals later officially labelled as security suspects completed all those stages before travelling, then it is important to understand what happened during that period. Security arrangements need to be proactive, not reactive.”

A similar institutional critique was articulated by Jamilu Charanchi, the national coordinator of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG). Mr Charanchi argued that the incident exposes the need for an independent review of the screening architecture surrounding official pilgrimages.

“If individuals suspected of serious involvement in terrorism can seamlessly utilise our official state pilgrimage pipelines to exit and re-enter the country unhindered, the current screening system demands deep scrutiny,” Mr Charanchi told PREMIUM TIMES. “Both the federal government, the state authorities, and the security leadership must constitute an independent investigative committee involving security agencies and relevant Hajj authorities to identify possible gaps in the screening process and strengthen future pilgrim vetting.”

Previous Security Arrests Linked to Pilgrimage

The Katsina operation is not the first time Nigerian security agencies have arrested high-profile security suspects in connection with religious pilgrimage.

In May 2025, SSS operatives arrested two wanted kidnap suspects during pre-departure Hajj screening. They included Yahaya Yakubu, arrested at the Abuja Hajj camp, and Sani Galadi, popularly known as Mai Boxer, who was arrested at the Sokoto Hajj camp before departing for Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, in September 2022, Tukur Mamu, who later faced terrorism-related charges, was intercepted in Cairo while travelling for Umrah before being returned to Nigeria and taken into DSS custody.

The Katsina case differs from these earlier incidents because the suspects were intercepted after completing the Hajj and returning to Nigeria. Their arrest was also publicly presented by the federal government as an example of the efficiency of Nigeria’s integrated biometric border management system.

Transparency inquiries and outstanding responses

To ensure fairness and balance and give every relevant institution a fair opportunity to respond to the findings of this investigation, PREMIUM TIMES sought clarification from the leadership of all primary organisations within the Hajj and security pipelines.

The SSS was contacted to clarify whether the suspects were already under investigation or active surveillance before leaving Nigeria, when they were formally watchlisted, whether they have been charged, and whether investigations are ongoing. However, as of the time of publication, the agency’s spokesperson has not responded to our questions.

Conversely, NAHCON, through its spokesperson, Mrs Usara, clarified that it operates strictly as an administrative manager and regulator, stating that it does not conduct background screening or manage passenger manifests directly, as those operations are handled entirely by state-level boards.

Following repeated enquiries by PREMIUM TIMES, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Akinsola Akinlabi, confirmed that the Service arrested the suspects and handed them over to the requesting agency. He, however, declined to comment on operational details, including pre-departure screening procedures and the wider investigation, saying the matter remains sensitive and under investigation.

Meanwhile, this reporter visited the Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board and enquired about grassroots documentation safeguards and the verification of local government area registries, but the executive director stated that the board is an administrative entity and not a security agency.

Finally, the Katsina State Government, via the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, issued a statement denying any state sponsorship or funding of the suspects’ travel and labelling all such rumours as politically motivated falsehoods unsupported by evidence.

Conclusion

As the seven suspects remain in federal custody and investigations continue, the central questions raised by the Katsina operation remain unresolved. The arrests demonstrated that Nigeria’s border security system can identify watchlisted travellers at the point of arrival.

What remains unclear is whether the institutions responsible for processing intending pilgrims had access to information that could have prevented the journey in the first place. Until those questions are answered, the case will continue to test not only Nigeria’s counterterrorism architecture but also the accountability of the agencies responsible for the country’s largest annual international migration.

By Ogalah Dunamis, Premium Times

Pastor’s Wife and 3 Children kidnapped

Islamic terrorists, suspected to be Boko Haram or the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), abducted the wife of a pastor and their three children on Saturday, July 18, along the Maiduguri-Damasak highway in Northeast Nigeria.

The family of Pastor Moses Guguma was on its way to join him in Damasak when the gunmen stopped their vehicle.

Damasak lies in northern Borno state near the Lake Chad basin, about 100 miles from Maiduguri, the state capital. The surrounding region has experienced repeated attacks, kidnappings and displacement during Nigeria’s long-running conflict with Boko Haram and its splinter factions.

The pastor’s family was traveling in a commercial vehicle from Maiduguri to Damasak, where Pastor Guguma leads the congregation of the Church of Christ in All Nations (COCIN). The vehicle was stopped in the afternoon near a military checkpoint in Kareto village in Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno state.

“The gunmen ordered the pastor’s wife and her children to leave the vehicle but permitted the driver and other passengers to continue their journey because they are all Muslims,” an eyewitness told International Christian Concern (ICC). “They took the pastor’s wife and her three children to the bush, but the Nigerian army could do nothing. He said the place is close to a Nigerian Army checkpoint.”

Pastor Guguma said the trip was expected to reunite the family after days of medical treatment in the hospital. The pastor asked the public to pray for the return of his wife and children.

“My wife was sick,” the pastor said. “She just recovered, and she was discharged from the hospital, coming to my station to see me and continued the ministry. Pray for us. My wife is still recovering from the illness.”

Church members said the pastor’s wife and children were abducted because of their faith. They added that the extremists often ask for a large ransom payment or they kill anyone they’ve captured who refuses to convert to Islam. At the time of this post, no ransom has been demanded.

Boko Haram is a Nigeria-based Islamist terrorist organization formally known as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad. The group seeks to overthrow Nigeria’s secular government and establish a system governed by its interpretation of Islamic law.

The United States designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in November 2013. The group has attacked churches, Christian communities, schools, government institutions, security forces, and Muslims whom it considers opposed to its ideology. Boko Haram was also responsible for the April 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno.

ISWAP traces its origin to Boko Haram’s 2015 pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State group. It later developed into a separate faction operating primarily in northeastern Nigeria and across the Lake Chad region, including areas bordering Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

The United States designated ISWAP a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February 2018. According to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, the organization uses kidnappings, targeted killings, roadside bombs, armed assaults and hostage-taking. Its targets have included Christians, aid workers, government personnel, military forces and civilians who resist its interpretation of Islamic law.

Both Boko Haram and ISWAP are therefore internationally recognized terrorist organizations. Their violence has affected Christians, Muslims and other civilians across northeastern Nigeria, although Christian ministers, churches and families have repeatedly been selected for abduction or execution.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that Boko Haram and ISWAP continued to impose extremist religious beliefs in areas where they operate and remained responsible for serious violations against religious communities. The commission also recorded continuing abductions of pastors, worshippers, women, and children across Nigeria.

Pastor Guguma and his congregation in Damasak are praying for the return of his wife and children.

Persecution.org

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Boko Haram Trials Ineffective, Flawed

The Nigerian authorities’ prosecution of Boko Haram suspects does not advance justice for serious international crimes, as the cases continue to target primarily low-level suspects and raise significant fair trial concerns, Human Rights Watch said today.

On April 8, 2026, the Nigerian authorities began the ninth phase of terrorism trials involving more than 500 defendants. The tenth phase began on June 15 with about 600 defendants. Lower-level suspects accused of offenses related to providing material support to armed groups, such as Boko Haram, dominate the court’s docket, while prosecution of those most responsible for serious international crimes are not being prioritized. The judicial proceedings also appear to be based on evidence insufficient to justify criminal convictions. Human Rights Watch raised similar concerns in 2018.

“Nigerian authorities should hold those responsible for atrocities by Boko Haram and security forces to account, but they repeatedly prosecute people with tenuous connections to the most serious crimes in trials that don’t deliver justice,” said Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Prosecutions should target higher level offenders and meet fair trial standards to ensure accountability for atrocities by both sides.”

The recent phases of the trials were held at the Federal High Court in Abuja from April 8 to 11 and June 15 to 18, with 10 judges hearing cases simultaneously in separate courtrooms. Human Rights Watch observed proceedings in five of these courtrooms on April 9 and 10 and June 17 and 18, monitored reporting on the trials, and interviewed a government official involved in the proceedings. Human Rights Watch also wrote to relevant government institutions involved in the trials, including the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, seeking responses to questions and concerns about the trials. The Legal Aid Council of Nigeria and the director of public prosecution, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Justice, have responded.

In its response to Human Rights Watch, the director of public prosecutions said that Nigeria's approach to prosecutions aims to balance the need to confront “terrorism” with the imperative to “preserve the constitutional rights of every person before the courts.” The response went on to emphasize that the office aims to prosecute support networks—including financing, logistics, recruitment, and material support—as part of what it calls “an internationally recognized strategy for disrupting and dismantling terrorist organizations.” The Legal Aid Council stated that it was dissatisfied with the convictions and sentences imposed by the courts in some cases during the ninth phase, and had appealed those decisions.

According to media reports, during the 4 days of trial hearings in April, the judges found 386 defendants guilty of terrorism-related crimes, including participation in Boko Haram attacks on civilians, and ordered sentences ranging from 5 years to life in prison. The judges discharged eight defendants in cases in which the director of public prosecutions, in his response, indicated that continuing the prosecutions would not serve the interests of justice and acquitted two others. The court adjourned 112 other cases until June.

During the June proceedings, the court heard cases involving 490 defendants on the first day and an additional 84 on the second day, according to media reports.

Twenty-five of the cases that Human Rights Watch observed were linked to Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Human Rights Watch also observed 10 cases involving the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist movement in southeast Nigeria, and 2 other cases involving banditry-related offenses. Criminal groups commonly referred to as “bandits” operate mainly in the northwest and north central regions of Nigeria.

In 2017 and 2021, the Nigerian government issued terrorism proscription orders designating the activities of IPOB as “bandits” and “terrorism,” specifying that “any person … participating in any manner whatsoever in any form of activities involving or concerning … the [designated] groups … will be violating the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act … and liable to prosecution.”

In all cases Human Rights Watch observed, prosecutors did not present witnesses or circumstantial evidence to substantiate the alleged charges, which were in some cases ambiguous and lacking crucial information like the specific date and details of the alleged offense.

The director of public prosecutions, in his response, stated that a range of evidence is considered—including witness testimony, electronic and forensic evidence, military operational reports, financial records, documentary exhibits, and expert evidence—before terrorism charges are filed. However, none of these forms of evidence were presented in the cases Human Rights Watch observed, in which convictions were all based on defendants’ guilty pleas, with only confessional statements and investigation reports provided in some cases as supporting evidence.

Judges based the convictions primarily on guilty pleas with alleged confession statements, and investigation reports tendered by the prosecutors as supporting evidence in some cases. When defendants entered not guilty pleas, the prosecution was unable to substantiate the alleged charges and withdrew them. These charges were then struck without being tested in court, even in cases potentially including attacks resulting in civilian deaths.

The prosecution only proceeded with charges to which defendants pleaded guilty, typically related to providing material support to a designated “terrorist” group or failure to report information about members of the group or their activities to security forces. This pattern raises serious concerns about the credibility of these charges and whether Nigerian prosecutors had sufficient evidence to justify bringing or sustaining them in court.

Many defendants had already spent years in pretrial detention, some since 2016, which may amount to arbitrary detention, while some were arrested as recently as 2025.

Under Section 13 of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, which criminalizes material or nonviolent support to terrorist groups, individuals face penalties of up to 20 years in prison. While Section 13 provides a legal basis for prosecution, its broad framing risks sweeping in individuals whose involvement may have been indirect or coerced, particularly those in conflict-affected areas.

Coupled with the serious fair trial concerns observed, including weak evidentiary basis for the criminal charges and concerns about the ability of defendants to mount an effective defense, these sentencing outcomes raise significant concerns about due process and the proportionality of harsh sentences for minor or tendentious allegations of material support, including when those actions may have been carried out under duress, Human Rights Watch said.

In some cases, defendants and their lawyers presented mitigation statements, including fear of harm to themselves or their families, or inability to report to authorities due to lack of access or security constraints. While these factors led to lesser sentences in some cases, they did not do so in others.

In December 2020, the former International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the completion of her office’s preliminary examination into the situation in Nigeria, during which it assessed whether it would open a formal investigation. The ICC Office of the Prosecutor concluded that there was a reasonable basis to believe that members of Boko Haram and its splinter groups, as well as members of the Nigerian security forces, had committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in the context of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria since June 2011. However, at the time, the prosecutor decided not to request the judges’ authorization to open an investigation into the situation in Nigeria, including due to resource constraints.

As a court of last resort, the ICC only steps in when national courts are unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute serious crimes. In the years that followed, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor sought to constructively engage with the Nigerian authorities to ensure they delivered on their legal obligation to bring justice with respect to alleged international crimes in the country.

On March 26, the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian government deferring to Nigeria’s primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute alleged serious international crimes before its domestic judicial system. The memorandum also stipulates the prosecutor’s office’s commitment to provide support to Nigerian authorities, including through continued encouragement and technical and strategy-related assistance.

Despite these commitments, the current domestic trials have yet to demonstrate the authorities’ genuine willingness and ability to address the pervasive impunity gap in the country, including for serious international crimes committed by the Nigerian security forces, as the focus of the proceedings so far has primarily been on Boko Haram, ISWAP, and other non-state actors.

The OTP should use its unique leverage and the commitments made under the memorandum to press Nigerian authorities to implement the necessary reforms in law and in practice to ensure the genuine investigation and prosecution of serious international crimes committed by all parties, Human Rights Watch said.

Nigerian authorities should ensure that all terrorism trials comply with international fair trial and due process standards, including basing prosecutions on credible and sufficient evidence, and guaranteeing adequate time and appropriate facilities to prepare a defense. They should amend the Terrorism (Prevention) Act to narrow the scope of material support offenses, and ensure that people who acted under coercion or duress are not prosecuted or punished for providing support to armed groups. The amendments should further ensure that people who are unable to report terrorist activity safely, lack meaningful involvement in such activity, or are otherwise in vulnerable or coercive circumstances are not subject to disproportionate penalties for failing to report. The authorities should also establish a process to review and commute sentences imposed on people convicted despite acting under coercion.

“More than eight years after these trials began, recent proceedings continue to reflect substantive and procedural failures,” Ewang said. “If the Nigerian authorities are serious about delivering real justice, they should address these shortcomings, prioritize credible investigations into serious international crimes, and produce robust evidence that can withstand judicial review in fair and credible trials.”

Weak Evidentiary Standards and “Plea-Driven” Convictions

In the cases Human Rights Watch observed that were linked to Boko Haram and ISWAP, Justice Ministry prosecutors brought a range of charges related to association with the groups and their activities. These include membership in one of the groups, failure to report information about members of the group or their activities to security forces, and providing material or nonviolent support to the group.

Alleged material support offenses include paying a religious tax in the form of farm produce or farming; supplying essentials such as gasoline, firewood, rice, corn, seasonings, and other foodstuffs; rearing stolen cattle; purchasing agrochemicals for the group; transporting ammunition; acting as informants; recruiting; kidnapping; and receiving ransom payments. Some of these charges conflate serious allegations of support to proscribed groups with situations in which ordinary people may be coerced into providing resources. This raises serious concerns about whether some of the charges should be brought at all, Human Rights Watch said.

All defendants in the cases Human Rights Watch observed were represented by lawyers from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, a government-funded agency that provides legal assistance to indigent people. However, in its written response to Human Rights Watch’s questions and concerns, the Legal Aid Council stated that it provided legal representation to the majority of the defendants in line with its mandate to provide pro bono legal services, but noted that a small number of defendants in the trials were represented by private legal practitioners if they could afford to hire a lawyer.

In the trials that Human Rights Watch observed, prosecutors relied on guilty pleas rather than testing evidence through adversarial proceedings. In 26 of the 35 applicable cases, the prosecution asked the judge to strike out all charges to which the defendants had pleaded not guilty and proceeded to seek convictions only on the charges to which the defendants had pleaded guilty.

This pattern persisted even in cases that could include serious international criminal charges, such as attacks against a civilian population resulting in deaths, which could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. These cases raise concerns that prosecutors are either overcharging defendants to coerce them into pleading guilty to lesser offenses or are not making meaningful efforts to secure accountability for the most serious crimes.

In one case, the prosecution brought four charges against the defendant, including participation in a Boko Haram attack in Gwoza, Borno State; participation in an attack in Biu, Yobe State, with civilians allegedly killed in both attacks; membership in Boko Haram; and receiving weapons training to carry out acts of terrorism. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the two charges concerning participation in attacks against civilians which were broadly framed and lacked specific details about the defendant’s alleged conduct or role in the attacks. Following the not guilty pleas, the prosecution applied to withdraw those charges, and the court struck them out. The defendant was subsequently convicted on the remaining two charges to which he had pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently.

In one case in which an innocent plea resulted in charges being dropped, a defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges, including membership in Boko Haram, failure to report named individuals, and supplying goods such as gasoline and soft drinks. The prosecution then asked to adjourn the proceedings without presenting any evidence to challenge the plea. An official involved in the trials told Human Rights Watch that similar adjourned cases in earlier phases had not returned to court.

The proceedings also raised concerns about whether defendants were afforded a genuine opportunity to prepare and present a defense, even though in the proceedings that Human Rights Watch observed, the defense lawyers stated that they had met with the defendants prior to the trial to prepare their cases. The defense lawyers neither called witnesses nor presented evidence. Their role was mostly limited to appearing in court and, after the defendants pleaded guilty and were convicted, making brief statements to the judge asking for leniency before they were sentenced.

In the cases Human Rights Watch observed, defendants who pleaded guilty received prison sentences ranging from 10 to 80 years. Eighteen cases resulted in convictions for material support-related offenses, with sentences ranging from ten to thirty years. The defendant in a case involving 12 charges received several sentences, including 50 years for membership in and recruitment on behalf of Boko Haram, and 80 years for financing terrorism by receiving 50 thousand naira (approximately US$36) to further Boko Haram activities. In all cases, the court ordered to calculate the sentences retroactively from the date of arrest.

In another case, the prosecution brought four charges against the defendant, including membership in ISWAP in Okene, Ekiti State; receiving military training and weapons-handling instruction, including the use of AK-47 rifles; providing support to ISWAP during a 2021 prison break in Ekiti State; and attacking the Nigerian Navy using an AK-47 and other weapons.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges except the membership charge. The prosecution subsequently applied to strike out the remaining charges and urged the court to convict the defendant on the count to which he had pleaded guilty. The judge sentenced the defendant to 20 years in prison.

The only two cases observed by Human Rights Watch in which this pattern did not occur involved one charge against each defendant—membership in Boko Haram and concealment of information relating to material support for Boko Haram, respectively—to which the defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 10 years each.

Nigerian authorities operate a deradicalization, rehabilitation, and reintegration program known as Operation Safe Corridor for former Boko Haram and ISWAP affiliates classified as “low risk” or “repentant” insurgents. While judges did not specifically reference the program in their sentencing decisions, most of which included orders for deradicalization and rehabilitation before release, media reports indicate that individuals convicted in earlier phases of the trials were later transferred to Operation Safe Corridor for rehabilitation, deradicalization, and reintegration after completing their sentences.

Prosecuting ‘Material Support’ Risks Criminalizing Acts of Survival

The broad framing of “material support” offenses under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act risks criminalizing ordinary survival strategies in areas under Boko Haram or ISWAP control. Court proceedings did not appear to distinguish between voluntary collaboration and conduct carried out under coercion or duress, even in cases in which defendants or the defense lawyers indicated that their actions were not voluntary.

In three cases, defendants plead guilty, admitting to carrying out the alleged acts, saying that they had feared harm to themselves or their families, or were unable to report to authorities due to lack of access or security constraints. In 16 other cases, defendants or their lawyers gave these explanations as mitigating factors following guilty pleas and convictions. While these factors appeared to result in reduced sentences in some cases, they did not consistently do so.

This raises concerns about the effectiveness of legal representation, including whether defendants were adequately informed of the legal consequences of entering guilty pleas, and whether they were given sufficient time and opportunity to prepare and present a defense.

In one case, a defendant pleaded guilty to paying a religious tax to Boko Haram. When presenting mitigating statements before the defendant was sentenced, the defense counsel said that the payments were made under duress and because the defendant had no choice. The defendant was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison on that charge, to run concurrently with another 20-year sentence for failure to disclose information about Boko Haram members to security forces.

In another case, a defendant who had been detained since 2017 pleaded guilty to five charges of failure to disclose information about Boko Haram members, and not guilty to three other charges, including membership in Boko Haram. While pleading for leniency, he said that reporting Boko Haram activities to security officials was not possible because there were no security forces in his community. He was sentenced to 10 years on each count, to run concurrently from the date of his arrest.

One defendant was sentenced to 25 years after pleading guilty to providing material support to Boko Haram by rearing goats for the group. While seeking leniency, the defense counsel said that rearing goats was the defendant’s primary source of livelihood and that he had been forced to work for Boko Haram after the group invaded his village.

Reduced Safeguards in the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2023

The Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2023, which amended and replaced the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011, appears to have taken a more punitive approach. While the 2011 Act included a defense for individuals charged with failing to report terrorist activity if they could show they had a reasonable excuse, the 2023 Act removed that protection. It also failed to improve on the 2011 Act's broadly framed material support offenses by introducing an explicit defense for people who acted under coercion or duress, increasing the risk for victims of abuse to be prosecuted alongside those who intentionally assist terrorist groups.

Human Rights Watch

Video - 'We're living in fear': 19 million children in Nigeria are out of school to avoid kidnappings

The 46 children and teachers that were abducted on May 15th in southwestern state of Oyo were rescued and reunited with their families on July 10th. Since the dramatic abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014, Nigeria has been hit with waves of mass kidnappings from schools. 27% of children in Nigeria are out of school, one of the highest rates in the world. The threat of abduction serves as one of the biggest obstacles to children pursuing their education.

France24

Many feared dead in another Nigeria boat disaster but why do they keep happening?

 

The pattern has now become wearily familiar in Nigeria.

Many die in a boat accident; officials say the regulations should be followed; their calls are ignored; campaigners say the resources are not available; another tragedy happens.

This time, a search-and-rescue team is looking for survivors of a capsized wooden canoe in Jigawa state.

Forty were thought to be on board, mostly female farmers and labourers, when it sank on Sunday. Twenty-three people have been rescued alive but nine bodies have been recovered from the river so far.

Last month, a boat accident on the River Benue in central Nigeria claimed the lives of 12 people, including a pregnant woman and six children.

Earlier this year, 14 people lost their lives when their boat capsized in Gumbi, Kebbi state. They had been returning from a wedding ceremony, accompanying the bride to her new husband's home.

So far this year, more than 55 people have already lost their lives in boat accidents, with dozens of bodies yet to be recovered.

For millions of Nigerians, particularly in rural areas, rivers are the most practical means of transport. With many villages on or close to waterways and few bridges and poor roads to aid travel, rickety wooden boats are often the only way for people to reach family members elsewhere, to take goods to market, or to see the outside world.

For people like Isiyaka Bello, the painful memory of losing someone to water is still fresh. Last year, his wife was returning from a village market in Kebbi state when she and eight others lost their lives.

"It seems like just yesterday. She left behind four children, and I am still struggling to adjust to raising them on my own.

"Whenever I pass by a large body of water, all I think about is her," he said.

The reasons why water transport in Nigeria is so risky are painfully predictable:

. Overcrowding
. Unsafe boats
. Failure to enforce basic safety rules like wearing life jackets.

After every disaster, authorities promise to do better. But on the water there is little, if any, change.

Mallam Sala Altine holds a traditional title that carries the weight of life and death on the river. He is the Sarkin Ruwan Shiroro - the man entrusted with keeping people safe on the Shiroro Lake in Niger state, where some of Nigeria's deadliest boat tragedies have occurred.

The River Niger, the third-longest in Africa, passes through the state with which it shares a name, where it is fed by numerous smaller rivers and connected waterways, creating an environment where fatal accidents are both frequent and severe.

Between January 2023 and October 2025, Niger state accounted for a significant share of the nearly 860 deaths recorded across Nigeria. One report noted 253 deaths in the state between June 2023 and August 2025.

Altine says there is a critical shortage of life jackets despite repeated government promises to supply them.

"Our boats usually carry well over 100 passengers. But most of the time, we can only provide life jackets for 10 people, or even fewer, because we simply don't have enough," he explains.

"We want to make it a rule that everyone who boards a boat must wear a life jacket. But we can't enforce it because we don't have any to give them."

He says that after one accident which claimed around 13 lives, the government pledged to supply more life jackets.

"But I don't know if the numbers were cut along the way, because what we eventually received was very little."

Altine says it breaks his heart to see passengers boarding boats without any protection.

As one local observer puts it: "These are not acts of fate. They are the predictable consequences of systemic negligence."

However, Ibrahim Husseini, director of information at the National Emergency Management Agency of Niger state, says the government regularly provides life jackets, but that people who have spent their whole lives by the water say they don't need them, or find them uncomfortable.

"We have people who are born and raised in riverine communities who take it for granted that this is the life they are used to," he told the BBC. "Sometimes it is difficult to force them to wear life jackets."

In riverine communities, whereas a high proportion of men often know how to swim, few women do, meaning they are particularly at risk if a boat capsizes. And yet it is often women who attend big family events such as weddings, or who take goods to market.

After a particularly deadly accident last year in Niger state, in which at least 32 passengers died, the National Inland Waterways Authority (Niwa) announced that life jackets were obligatory throughout the country.

In an attempt to stop vessels picking up passengers in unsafe areas and ensure that regulations are followed, Niwa director general Bola Oyebamiji also said that commercial passenger boats were only allowed to pick up travellers at places that were recognised and registered by the authority.

But these are not new rules. They are all contained in the Water Transport Code, which was first passed in January 2023. However many of its provisions are routinely ignored.

"The law requires that for any boat operating on a large body of water where someone cannot easily swim to shore, all passengers must wear life jackets," explained Timothy Iwuagwu, president of the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria.

"But these laws are hardly implemented. Any regulation is as good as its implementation."

He also pointed to a lack of proper training: "The majority of these local boat operators are not trained nor licensed. A boat operator should understand the behaviour of the water - the waves, the tide, the current. Boat owners need to be well trained and must obtain a licence before they can operate."

Again, this recommendation is often ignored in practice.

He also said that the maximum capacities of passenger boats should be clearly indicated to avoid overloading, which is often one of the causes when boats capsize.

Where life jackets are available, Iwuagwu said they are often of poor quality and passengers frequently do not know how to put them on properly.

Last year, the government called for wooden boats to be phased out. Iwuagwu agrees with this but says it will take time and that there are immediate measures which are more important, such as strict enforcement of existing regulations, and involving safety professionals in the design and implementation of water safety policies.

The introduction of water marshals to oversee terminals and prevent overloading has not yet made a difference. Husseini says there are simply not enough marshals to cover all the terminals.

A further problem is that many Nigerian waterways are full of tree stumps following years of logging. At low tide they are visible. But when the tide rises, they become hidden - and boats can crash into them and overturn. These have been blamed for several boat disasters over the years.

Husseini said this was usually a result of poor dredging: "The plants in the water are not removed from the root."

He added that removing or dealing with tree trunks or roots in water is not the responsibility of the state government which he works for but Niwa which handles inland waterways.

Then there are the boats or canoes themselves - generally old, weak, rickety wooden vessels that have often been used for years without upgrades or major repairs.

Nigeria's Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola acknowledged the problem late last year.

"The time has come for a decisive break from outdated practices," he said. "Wooden boats have served their time, but they cannot be the future of water transport in Nigeria. The tragic mishaps we continue to witness are a direct consequence of the continued reliance on unsafe vessels."

He was speaking after a boat accident on the Jaranja River in the northern Sokoto state, where nine people died heading to a local market.

"Our ministry has mandated the compulsory use of life jackets, and we have supplied them in thousands to riverine states," he said. "But life jackets alone cannot guarantee safety without safe boats."

He appealed to state governments to ensure that boat operators invest in fibre and aluminium boats, which are considered much safer than traditional wooden vessels due to their superior strength and durability.

An example of how water safety can be improved can be found in Lagos, Nigeria's biggest city, which lies on the coast with roughly a third of its area covered by water. It is notorious for traffic gridlock, so water transport is a common way of getting around.

Boat accidents used to happen frequently in the city, whose very name comes from the Portuguese word for lake, with 92 recorded deaths between January 2018 and October 2023.

But in recent years, there has been a dramatic reduction. Statistics from Lagos State Water Authority (Laswa) showed that only one person died in a boat accident in 2024 and six people in 2025, with no fatalities recorded so far this year.

Abdulbaq Balogun, managing director of Lagos Ferry Services, put the improvement down to four measures taken by the state government:

. providing new, standard boats and life jackets
. dredging the water channels
. employing water guards at every jetty and terminal
. ensuring that all boat operators are trained and licensed.

"Even when there is an accident or mechanical fault, the water guard quickly informs the control room and a rescue boat is deployed in record time," he said.

The Lagos government acquired a huge stockpile of life jackets, which it distributed to boat operators. Following repeated public awareness campaigns, many passengers now ask for one before boarding - something which rarely happens elsewhere in the country.

But replicating the Lagos model across the whole country will take time.

Popular singer Aminu Bagwai was one of only four survivors of a river disaster that killed 36 people, including a bride being taken to her new husband's house, in Kano state 18 years ago. None of the passengers on that ill-fated journey wore life jackets, he told the BBC.

He wrote a song in the Hausa language titled Ruwan Bagwai (Bagwai's water) about the tragedy, which became a huge hit and turned him into a household name across northern Nigeria, with people sympathising over what he had gone through.

He spoke of his sadness that nothing has really changed since then.

"I still think about it every day, and it is sad I still see boat accidents happen leading to loss of lives.

"My prayer at the time was that ours would be the last one."

By Mansur Abubakar, BBC

Related story: ‘Over 400 Killed in 6 Months’: The Sorry Cases of Boat Mishaps in Nigeria

Video - Nigerian artist uses AI to preserve Africa's oral histories

Nigerian artist Malika Afegbua is using artificial intelligence to preserve Africa's oral histories, languages and traditions through his Legacy Link project. The initiative captures the voices and memories of elders to ensure their stories live on for future generations. It builds on his earlier Elders Series, which celebrated Africa's elderly through AI-generated art.

CGTN Africa

Children describe how Nigerian militants moving south are seizing more young captives

Aliyu Saheed feared he might not see his three young sons again. For nearly two months after al-Qaida-linked fighters carried out a mass abduction of schoolchildren in an area of Nigeria formerly free of such attacks, he could hardly sleep at night.

He wondered what the boys were doing in captivity and how his youngest, just 5 years old, would survive.

“The day they told us they had been rescued was the happiest day of my life,” the farmer told The Associated Press, as children returned to the community on Friday to feasting and prayers led by pastors and Islamic clerics.

His boys were among dozens of students abducted from their classrooms in Oriire area of southwestern Oyo state on May 15 before being rescued on July 10.

Children as young as 3 were seized in the attack that awakened many Nigerians to a threat that has been moving south through Africa’s most populous nation in the last year. Competition for territory and control of natural resources has intensified among jihadis and other armed groups as they expand beyond the conflict-battered north to areas largely spared until now.

Nigeria’s forests are used for militants’ expansion

The armed men stormed into the agrarian community and took 39 children from three schools. They were marched, along with teachers, into a vast forest reserve nearby. One teacher was killed in the abduction. Two others were killed in captivity, according to local media.

The forest reserve connects to neighboring Kwara state to the north, which borders northern Nigeria and its long history of mass abductions of students by armed groups, often for ransom. Analysts say children and schools are often seen as strategic targets to draw more attention and higher ransoms.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has said the attackers in Oyo state were Ansaru militants, a breakaway faction of the Boko Haram militant group that claims to defend the interests of Islam and has been more active in recent years.

Authorities said the rescue operation was carried out jointly by the military, intelligence agency and police, and that eight kidnappers were arrested while others were killed.

The abduction turned attention to Nigeria’s lightly policed forest reserves and their use as a corridor and hiding area for armed groups.

“The thing to learn is that the forested areas of the country must be much better surveilled because that is where those armed groups operate and keep their victims,” said Joachim MacEbong, a senior analyst at global risk consultancy firm Control Risks.

Children described being bound and beaten

In interviews with the AP, the children and their parents spoke of horrid conditions in captivity. They said their captors left them in the open without shelter, exposing them to sun and rain.

Saheed’s eldest son, 9-year-old Shuaib, said he and his brothers tried to distract themselves by thinking about the comfort of home and their mother’s cooking. They were fed a basic meal of boiled rice and palm oil, he recalled.

“I could not say anything for fear of getting beaten,” he said. “They flogged us with a cane all over the body, and they hit me in the back with the butt of their gun.”

The militants beat the youngest children the worst and muffled their mouths with cloth so that their cries would not attract attention, Alamu Folawe, the head of one of the schools, told journalists.

Families said some children now have physical scars, and many are still recuperating psychologically.

Aduke Balogun’s daughter, 8-year-old Kehinde Kaosarat, was one of the last to be discharged from the hospital. She has not left her mother’s side since she returned home on Friday.

While in captivity, the girl said, she could not eat or sleep because “I kept imagining the worst things.”

Abducted siblings Jacob and Mary told their parents after their release that they didn’t want to return to school, said their father, Gabriel Sunday.

It’s a common concern after such kidnappings in a country that already has one of the world’s highest numbers of children out of school.

“Sending them back to the school does not sound meaningful to me right now,” said Saheed, the father of the three boys.

The spread to the south increases pressure on leaders

Tinubu, elected in 2023 after promising to end the country’s security woes, has come under growing pressure. The U.S. military is supporting Nigerian forces, though much of that is restricted to logistics and intelligence-gathering at the heart of the violence in the north.

Although Tinubu said the Ansaru militants’ network of informants was dismantled during the rescue operation, analysts say the drivers of insecurity, such as corruption and poor governance, remain. And Nigeria’s overstretched security forces are mostly absent in remote communities.

James Barnett, a research fellow with U.S.-based Hudson Institute who specializes in security in Africa, said Ansaru has been building networks in Nigeria’s southwest for many years.

Experts say an attack regarded as successful could inspire more.

Some residents now hesitate to return

Friday’s celebration of the children’s return drew the community of Christians and Muslims together for dancing and a meal to express their gratitude.

“We have all come here to thank God for protecting the children and their teachers and helping the military men who rescued them,” said Tajudeen Abioye, the village chief.

Many residents left the area after the attack but have started trickling back. Although security forces deployed following the mass abduction are still in the area, locals remain anxious, especially farmers whose farms are close to the forest reserve.

“The rescue of the Oriire abductees is wonderful news and should inspire some confidence in Nigeria’s ability to better manage these threats. But it is not the end of insecurity in the southwest or Nigeria as a whole,” Barnett said.

By Pelumi Salako, AP

Nigeria brings home 1,490 citizens from South Africa after xenophobic attacks

Nigeria has completed the voluntary evacuation of ​1,490 citizens from South Africa ‌following a series of xenophobic attacks, its foreign ministry said on Thursday, ​with the latest flight bringing ​305 returnees home from Johannesburg.

Foreign ministry ⁠spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa said a ​fifth evacuation flight carrying 305 ​returnees and two government officials arrived in Lagos on July 15.

The government said the ​evacuation followed talks with South ​African authorities over security concerns linked to ‌xenophobic ⁠attacks on foreign nationals, including Nigerians.

Nigeria has condemned violence against its citizens in South Africa, including ​the deaths ​of at ⁠least two nationals allegedly assaulted by security officials.

Despite ​strong bilateral ties with South ​Africa, ⁠Nigeria's position remains clear: xenophobia, racial intolerance and violence against its ⁠citizens ​are unacceptable, Kimiebi ​said.

By Tife Owolabi, Reuters

Nigerians want cheaper petrol, but renewed Hormuz battle won’t make that happen

Nigerians hoping for a significant reduction in petrol prices may have to wait longer as renewed tensions in the Middle East gradually reverse the recent decline in global crude oil prices.

Crude prices rose this week after the US reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and President Donald Trump threatened a 20 per cent cargo charge on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The US, he believes, deserved to be “reimbursed” for being a “guardian of the strait” — one of his many bullish rhetorics retracted hours later.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, jumped to $87 per barrel on Wednesday, the first time it has traded at that level since June. The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also rose to $80 per barrel, while the stock market dipped significantly.

The renewed tension between the US and Iran is disrupting the relief many hoped the gradual return to pre-war oil prices would bring.

This comes amid growing pressure for the adjustment of petrol retail cost to reflect the decline in crude oil prices that followed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June between the US and Iran. In Nigeria, where the global crisis had compounded existing high energy costs and inflation, demand for a petrol price cut was high.

The week before the breakdown of the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, Nigerians had been questioning why the 40 per cent crude oil price decline had yet to translate to lower pump prices. Many Nigerians criticised the Dangote refinery, which supplies over half of locally consumed petrol, and petrol importers. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, in an official statement, warned against exploitative pricing and other anti-competitive practices in the deregulated downstream market, while declaring that it would not hesitate to impose sanctions on violators.

Authorities had also announced engagements with sector operators to placate the public. Then came Mr Trump’s statement that “the ceasefire is over”, which shot up oil prices by 5.2 per cent from $78 to $80, and the renewed strikes that sustained mobility.

Fluctuation in prices

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the war had begun with Israel and the US launching an unprovoked attack on Tehran in the middle of negotiations.

The Trump administration initially justified the strikes by claiming Iran posed an imminent threat to US interests, but later shifted its public rationale to emphasise destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Iran, in response, targeted US military bases and closed down the Strait of Hormuz.

Dangote refinery petrol prices fluctuated significantly during the war. From a pre-war price of below N900 a litre, it moved from N1,075 per litre to 1,175 within the first week of March. By mid-March, it climbed to N1,245 per litre, and fell to N1,200 at the end of the month. The changes remained within this range throughout April before briefly peaking at N1350 in early May. After the MoU, the price fell to N1,175 per litre and then to N1,075 per litre in July.

Mirroring these changes, pump prices rose from about ₦ 870 pre-war to as high as ₦1500 in May. This paper reported that this increase made transportation less affordable in Nigeria, with many citizens abandoning their private cars for public buses and some others opting to walk to their destination.

When the tension eased and the MoU was signed, many Nigerians looked forward to a decline in petrol prices. However, prices remained above N1,000 in many parts of the country. This was despite the global crude oil price falling to about $73 per barrel, close to the pre-war price.

Analysts who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES said retail prices did not reflect this change because petrol prices are determined not only by crude oil prices but also by exchange rates, shipping and insurance costs, refining margins, import costs, and local distribution expenses.

According to Razaq Fatai, a trade analyst and economist, businesses are typically quicker to increase prices when costs rise but slower to reduce them when prices fall because of the need for capital management.

Mr Fatai, who is head of Advisory and Research at Vestance, explained that many businesses in the oil and gas sector finance their inventory purchases through loans and other credit arrangements. So, when prices decline, they may be reluctant to immediately reduce selling prices because they still have existing stock purchased at higher costs and must meet repayment obligations.

“If businesses adjust prices too quickly, they may struggle with cash flow and may find it difficult to restock,” he said.

“Full adjustment in retail prices would occur gradually as businesses absorb previous costs and new, lower-priced supplies enter the market,” Demola Adigun, another energy expert, said.

But with the renewed strikes and the growing tensions around Hormuz worsening instability in the Gulf, Nigerians may have to wait even longer before they begin to see lower petrol prices to the pre-war level.

Oil prices are likely to remain high

Recently, Dangote refinery announced that it began pricing fuel products for the local market in US dollars.

The refinery attributed this to difficulties securing sufficient crude under the government’s naira-for-crude programme and rising global oil prices. Independent petroleum marketers are kicking against this due to its potential implications on the downstream sector.

This development, analysts tell PREMIUM TIMES, will increase the volatility in the downstream petroleum market, as fuel prices may become more exposed to movements in the foreign exchange market.

It could increase demand for dollars among petroleum marketers and further add pressure to the naira, making domestic fuel prices more sensitive to exchange rate fluctuations.

“Nigerians need to brace up for a long ride,” Mr Fatai said. “It is only temporary, but it might also take a while. We find ourselves in an unpredictable situation.”

He further noted that the impact of the renewed US-Iran strikes on fuel prices is likely to be minimal, unlike the first 70 days of the war.

Dan Kunle, an energy analyst, pointed out that Nigeria’s limited crude oil production capacity has made it vulnerable to sudden changes in the global market.

He said that Nigeria, despite being an oil-producing country, cannot meet domestic demand or take advantage of export opportunities, leaving its oil sector import-dependent.

“Nigeria is a developing country that lacks adequate infrastructure and does not possess a comparative or competitive advantage in the hydrocarbon sector.

“This is why Nigerians will struggle to get a stable oil price,” he said.

To address this, he noted, Nigerians must invest in technical capacity, financial strength, and the robust infrastructure required to compete.

By Beloved John, Premium Times

Nigeria launches $552 million education drive backed by World Bank

Nigeria has launched a $552 million basic education programme co-financed by ​the World Bank and the Global Partnership ‌for Education, President Bola Tinubu said on Thursday, to improve learning outcomes, widen access to schooling ​and strengthen the education system.

The HOPE-EDU programme ​will directly benefit about 29 million children, ⁠more than 500,000 teachers, 65,000 public ​schools and 10,000 non-formal learning centres nationwide, Tinubu ​said at the launch in Abuja.

The programme is one of five initiatives in place to speed up ​poverty reduction, human capital development, community growth, ​and strengthen healthcare.

"These programmes are not separate efforts; they are ‌one ⁠coordinated national strategy for poverty reduction, human capital development and community resilience," Tinubu said.

Tinubu, who is seeking re-election in January, has ​pursued Nigeria's biggest ​economic reforms ⁠in decades since taking office in 2023, scrapping costly fuel and ​electricity subsidies, devaluing the naira and ​overhauling ⁠the tax system to bolster public finances.

He said the initiatives would translate recent economic reforms ⁠into ​tangible gains in livelihoods, ​education, healthcare and social protection.

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

Video - Nigeria’s AI pioneer builds a university for the future

Artificial intelligence is transforming industries around the world, from agriculture to healthcare, driving innovation and economic growth. In Nigeria, one young entrepreneur is embracing that future by founding a university dedicated entirely to AI, aiming to equip the next generation with the skills to lead the digital revolution.

CGTN Africa

Nigeria launches $500 million agriculture fund to transform oil-rich Niger Delta

Nigeria has unveiled a $500 million Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund, marking one of its biggest agriculture-focused investment initiatives as the government looks to diversify the economy beyond oil and strengthen food security.

Vice President Kashim Shettima announced the fund on Wednesday at the Niger Delta Agricultural Development and Investment Summit in Abuja, describing agriculture as a critical pillar of Nigeria's long-term economic transformation. The initiative is designed to increase food production, unlock private capital and position the oil-producing Niger Delta as a major agribusiness hub.

A commercial investment model

Unlike traditional government intervention programmes, the fund will operate as a commercial, returns-driven investment vehicle, financing projects across the agricultural value chain.

Investment will target high-potential sectors including aquaculture, palm oil, livestock, fisheries, marine resources and crop production. According to Shettima, financing will come from a mix of multilateral development institutions—including the World Bank, African Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank—alongside private investors. He did not disclose how much each institution would contribute or the fund's ownership structure.

Nigeria has been ramping up mechanisation efforts, including plans to deploy 10,000 tractors over five years to improve productivity. The government has also pursued international partnerships, including a $1 billion agriculture cooperation agreement with Brazil, aimed at expanding mechanised farming and agricultural infrastructure.

Why the Niger Delta matters

Although the Niger Delta has long powered Nigeria's economy through crude oil production, its vast agricultural potential has remained largely underdeveloped.

By attracting institutional investors and commercial capital into the region, the government hopes to create jobs, expand agricultural exports and reduce Nigeria's dependence on food imports. If successfully executed, the initiative could help reposition the Niger Delta from an oil-dependent economy to one of the country's most important food-production and agribusiness centres.

By Adekunle Agbetiloye, Business Insider Africa

Dozens of abducted schoolchildren and teachers rescued in Nigeria

Two months after they were abducted in southwestern Nigeria, dozens of students and teachers have been rescued, the presidency says.

In a statement on Friday, President Bola Tinubu said he was “profoundly happy” that Nigeria’s security agencies had rescued the students and teachers, 56 days after they were kidnapped from three schools in the southwestern state of Oyo.

Eight of the assailants have been arrested and an unspecified number have been killed, Tinubu added.

On May 15, 46 students and staff were kidnapped from two primary schools and one secondary school. The government has blamed the kidnappings on Boko Haram.

The youngest child taken was aged two, while the oldest was 16. One of the teachers was killed shortly after the abduction.

In a post on X, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said all of the students and teachers had been rescued.

School kidnappings have become common in Nigeria, as armed groups seek large ransoms from the government and citizens.

The situation has been worsened by a security crisis, partly fuelled by the Boko Haram rebellion in the country’s northeast. In 2024, gunmen earned more than $1.6m in ransom payments, according to SBM Intelligence.

“This successful military operation has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days and has brought relief to the entire nation and the affected families in particular,” Tinubu said in his statement.

“On behalf of the country, I express my gratitude to the officers and men of our armed forces, the intelligence agencies and the police for the safe rescue of the children and their teachers.”

Prior to the May 15 attack, the majority of school kidnappings had taken place in northern Nigeria. The abductions in Oyo, in the southwest, have prompted concerns that the security crisis could be worsening.

It is not clear exactly how the students and staff were rescued, but Onanuga said there “was no quid pro quo in the rescue”.

Earlier this week, Defence Minister Christopher Musa said the assailants planned to use the hostages as leverage to pressure the government to release some of their commanders from prison.

Al Jazeera

Dangote begins pricing local fuel sales in dollars, citing crude supply constraints

Nigeria's Dangote Petroleum Refinery has begun pricing fuel products for the local market in U.S. dollars, ​with a company spokesperson on Tuesday citing difficulties securing ‌sufficient crude under the government's naira-for-crude programme and rising global oil prices.

The naira-for-crude programme, launched in October 2024, allowed domestic refiners to purchase ​crude in the local currency and reduced pressure on ​the foreign exchange market.

Africa's largest refinery, with a ⁠capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, has set the ex-depot ​price of petrol at $0.779 per litre, diesel at $1.087 per litre and ​aviation fuel at $0.942 per litre, according to a pricing template circulated to marketers.

Edwin Devakumar, vice president of the Dangote Group, said the refinery had ​been absorbing a currency mismatch by selling products in ​naira while sourcing crude in dollars, but limited crude supply under the naira-for-crude ‌programme ⁠had undermined the arrangement's viability.

Although state-owned oil company NNPC increased Dangote's allocation to seven cargoes in May from about five previously, the refiner has said it requires 13 to 15 cargoes ​a month and ​has been forced ⁠to import the remainder at international prices.

The decision could boost demand for dollars among fuel ​marketers and make domestic fuel prices more sensitive ​to ⁠exchange-rate fluctuations.

The sector regulator, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dangote has ⁠become ​a major local petrol supplier, helping ​to reduce the country's dependence on fuel imports, but has struggled to secure ​sufficient volumes in Nigeria.

By Isaac Anyaogu, Reuters