Children happy to be home again. Nigeria has brought back around 12,000 of its citizens who fled raids by criminal gangs in the northwest of the country earlier this year.
The authorities in Shimfida village located in Katsina state near the Nigerien border said improved security prompted the voluntary returns since Sunday.
Returnees like Audu Musa, pray for safety: "We are praying to God that all our predicaments come to an end and may we see an end to such predicaments and may God shield us with all his shields of protection."
Outside a makeshift camp at a public school in the Nigerian town of Jibia, thousands boarded buses to go home on Monday. Jibia's political administrator said he expected many more to arrive.
"There are those who are taking refuge in Jibia and those who are in Niger Republic, Bashir Sabi'u starts. Approximately 6,000 refuges are estimated to be in the Niger republic, in Jibia maybe even more, from about 6000 and those people in Niger Republic are on their way back, we are expecting their arrival to send them onto Shimfida."
Despite military operations, reports that criminal gangs known locally as bandits are still active in the wider region of northern Nigeria continue to emerge.
Insecurity has disrupted agriculture and food supplies in Katsina state and around, deepening malnutrition. Rural northwest Nigeria has been ravaged by gangs of bandit militias who raid villages, loot cattle and kidnap people.
Over the past two years, violence has displaced almost one million people in northwest and central Nigeria, while an additional 80,000 have fled across the border to Niger.
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Nigeria resettles some 12,000 displaced people in instable northwest
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
The Most Curious Nation About Crypto Is Nigeria, Study Shows
Africa’s most-populous nation showed more interest in cryptocurrencies than any other country since the digital assets began to decline in April, according to a study by price tracker CoinGecko.
Nigeria scored 371 in the study that looked at Google Trends data for six searches such as “buy crypto” or “invest in crypto” that were then combined to give each English-speaking nation a total search ranking. The West African country was followed by the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
“This study provides interesting insight into which countries remain most interested in cryptocurrency in spite of market pullbacks,” CoinGecko’s co-founder Bobby Ong said in an emailed statement. “The countries at the top of this list appear to be keenest to buy the dip, and highlight their long-term outlook for cryptocurrencies.”
The Nigerian stock exchange said in June it planned to start a blockchain-enabled platform next year to deepen trade and lure young investors to the market. That came after its central bank in early 2021 ordered commercial lenders to stop transactions or operations in cryptocurrencies, citing a threat to the financial system.
Singapore had the most searches on Ethereum, while Georgia sought information on Solana, according to CoinGecko.
By Helen Nyambura
Related stories: Nigerian Youth Propels the Country to the Top of Google Bitcoin Search Rankings
Five suspects arrested in Nigeria Catholic church massacre
Nigeria has arrested five suspects in an Islamist militant attack in a Catholic church that killed 40 people in early June, Chief of Defence Staff General Leo Irabor said on Tuesday.
Nigerian authorities have said they suspect insurgent group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) carried out the massacre of members of a congregation inside the St Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state on June 5.
ISWAP is waging an insurgency in the northeast but claims that it carried out the attack far away from its enclave have raised concern that the group is expanding its footprint in Nigeria.
Irabor said in a statement in Abuja that the attackers were arrested during joint operations involving the armed forces, the Department of Security Services and police. He did not say where and when the arrests were made.
He said he could not parade the suspects due to ongoing investigations.
"I will like to say that in due course, the world will see them and others who are behind other daring attacks in the country," Irabor said.
Arakunrin Akeredolu, the governor for Ondo state, said a person who had provided accommodation to the suspects before the attack was also arrested.
ISWAP has claimed responsibility for a string of low level attacks as well as daring jail break in Abuja in early July that freed more than 400 inmates.
By Camillus Eboh
Related story: Three worshippers killed, others abducted in new church attacks in Nigeria
Video - Nigeria church attack: Survivors face grief, trauma
Video - Worshippers gunned down during church service in Nigeria
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Nigeria loses 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day to theft, says FG
The Federal Government has decried huge crude oil theft resulting in substantial loss in production.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who disclosed this, yesterday, when he visited the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, at the Government House, Owerri, lamented that hoodlums who perpetrate the act has caused the production level to reduce by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), translating to a drop from 1.8 million to 1.4 million bpd.
Sylva, who was accompanied by a high powered team made up of the Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Opiah; the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor; the Group Chief Executive Officer, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Alhaji Mele Kyari, said they came as part of industry-wide intervention mission to find a lasting solution to curb crude oil theft in Nigeria, noting that they were also in the state to get the buy-in and support of the state government on how to tackle the problem.
His words: “We’ve come here to engage the state government to get your buy-in and support.” Sylva disclosed that his delegation was in the state to seek the cooperation of the state government, adding that the oil host communities should play a collaborative effort to stop the alarming levels of crude oil theft, which has now become a national emergency.
Speaking, Uzodimma pledged the commitment of government to curb the menace in the state. He said: “We are committed; we are determined. The consequences of oil theft are alarming. Our economy is bleeding.”
Uzodimma regretted that the development has led to a drop in the earnings of government, creating environmental pollution and other health hazards.
He promised that the state government would do its best to support oil-producing companies, as well as collaborate with Federal Government to achieve the goal.
The governor thanked the NNPC Limited for the 200- bed hospital it is building at the Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu.
By Charles Ogugbuaja
Related stories: The Criminals Undercutting Nigeria’s Oil Industry
Video - Oil theft in Nigeria on the rise
Explosion at Nigerian illegal oil refinery kills more than 100
Insecurity Grips Nigeria's Capital
A series of attacks and threats within close proximity of Nigeria’s seat of government in Abuja by Islamist and other armed groups are causing fear and apprehension among citizens in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and across the country, Human Rights Watch said today.
The Nigeria Police Force has assured citizens that it has scaled up security in the federal region, which includes Abuja, but these attacks and threats, even to kidnap the president, indicate an alarming deterioration of the nation’s security situation. The authorities need to ensure adequate security for all civilians while respecting human rights.
“The recent events unfolding in the capital confirms many Nigerians’ fears that the threat from Islamist insurgents and other armed groups are now national threats that have reached critical levels,” said Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The ability of the groups to expand outside their base even to the nation’s capital means that the authorities need to greatly expand their efforts to protect people.”
For over a decade, Nigeria has been embroiled in conflict in the Northeast region with Boko Haram, an Islamist insurgency group, and its breakaway factions including the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). These groups kill and kidnap people in their quest to topple the government and establish an Islamic state. In the Northwest, years of conflict between nomadic herders, mainly of Fulani ethnicity, and farming communities of Hausa ethnicity have given rise to a proliferation of powerful criminal gangs with sophisticated weaponry that terrorize communities and kill, pillage, and kidnap people, including schoolchildren, for ransom.
On July 5, armed men attacked a minimum security prison in Kuje, a community within the federal district, about 40 kilometers from Abuja. During the attack, for which the Islamic State West Africa Province claimed responsibility, about 900 inmates escaped, including more than 60 Boko Haram suspects. Security analysts have also highlighted the involvement of Ansaru, an Al Qaeda-backed splinter faction of Boko Haram, in the attack, though the extent of its involvement is unclear.
On July 25, unidentified assailants killed six officers of the presidential guard brigade, an elite force of the army responsible for protecting the president and the federal area, in Bwari, a community in the federal region where a campus of the Nigeria Law School is located. The officers were deployed to provide security after the management of the law school received a letter from unidentified sources threatening an imminent attack on the school.
In response, the Federal Education Ministry announced the immediate closure of all federal government colleges in the federal region to ensure students’ safety, affecting thousands of students.
On July 29, media reported that gunmen attacked a military checkpoint in the federal region along the Abuja-Kaduna Highway, which has become notorious in recent years for kidnappings and other attacks against citizens.
On July 24, a video surfaced on social media showing kidnapped victims of a March attack by suspected members of ISWAP on a train that left Abuja, heading for Kaduna state, being beaten by their captors. In the video, members of the armed group threatened to kill or sell off the victims as captives to others if the government did not adhere to their demands, including the release of some ISWAP members and payment for ransom. They also threatened to kidnap President Muhammadu Buhari and other government officials.
These incidents as well as other reports of kidnapping in the federal region have spread fear, panic, and apprehension among citizens.
A local taxi driver, who carries passengers from Abuja to Mararaba and Nyanya in neighboring Nasarawa state, told Human Rights Watch: “The kind of fear I am experiencing is overwhelming, as I am moving on the road. I don’t know where or how it [an attack] can happen, so I am always on high alert. I panic at every checkpoint because I don’t know if it is bandits or police there. Even the passengers are suspects because there is no way of knowing if I am carrying a bandit or a terrorist that can harm me.”
Another taxi driver plying the same route said: “The reports are so alarming and have made everyone very conscious of their safety. Before we could be on the road carrying passengers past 10 p.m., but now we try to wrap up and get home by 8 p.m. and this makes us lose up to 30 percent of our daily earnings.” The taxi driver said that he and many of his colleagues have also observed that there are not many passengers on the road anymore after 8 p.m., possibly because everyone is afraid.
A 45-year-old civil servant from Borno State, the center of the Boko Haram conflict, who moved his family out of the state in 2008, during the early stages of the crisis, said he is concerned with the insecurity playing out in the federal region because it looks a lot like the beginning of the crisis in Borno state, with worrying spates of attacks and threats: “If the government does not take necessary action, the FCT will boil over and everyone will run out like we ran from Borno state to find safety in other places.”
Confidence MacHarry, the Lead Security Analyst at SBM Intelligence, an organization that follows Nigeria’s security issues, said that the security situation in the federal region is worse than it has ever been, even in comparison to the earlier days of the Boko Haram conflict when places like the United Nations office in Abuja were attacked.
He said this is because there are now more groups apart from Boko Haram posing threats and the security forces are stretched thin in trying to respond. MacHarry also said that the authorities use words like “bandits” or “terrorists” to sweep various groups under the same cover, rather than specifically identifying groups so that they can formulate appropriate responses.
In response to the attacks and threats, Nigeria’s Police Chief has deployed more officers to the area, and the Federal Executive Council approved 2.6 billion naira (US$6.2 million) for vehicles and equipment for security agencies operating there.
Despite huge budgetary allocations to the country’s security sector in recent years, the security forces remain poorly equipped, while corruption scandals continue to emerge. The security forces have also been implicated in gross human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings, while responding to security crises across the country, and have repeatedly failed to hold officers responsible for the abuses accountable through the justice system.
“The Nigerian authorities should ensure adequate security measures are in place to keep citizens safe, pursue the attackers, and bring those responsible to account in accordance with human rights laws,” Ewang said. “Anything short of this will spur more grievances against the government, which may worsen an already tense situation and fuel additional cycles of violence.”
Human Rights Watch
Related stories: Nigerian leader faces impeachment threats amid insecurity
Video - Is Nigeria's security crisis out of control?
Monday, August 8, 2022
UK Museum Agrees to Return Looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
A London museum agreed Sunday to return a collection of Benin Bronzes looted in the late 19th century from what is now Nigeria as cultural institutions throughout Britain come under pressure to repatriate artifacts acquired during the colonial era.
The Horniman Museum and Gardens in southeast London said that it would transfer a collection of 72 items to the Nigerian government. The decision comes after Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments formally asked for the artifacts to be returned earlier this year and following a consultation with community members, artists and schoolchildren in Nigeria and the U.K., the museum said.
"The evidence is very clear that these objects were acquired through force, and external consultation supported our view that it is both moral and appropriate to return their ownership to Nigeria,'' Eve Salomon, chair of the museum's board of trustees, said in a statement. "The Horniman is pleased to be able to take this step, and we look forward to working with the NCMM to secure longer term care for these precious artifacts.''
The Horniman's collection is a small part of the 3,000 to 5,000 artifacts taken from the Kingdom of Benin in 1897 when British soldiers attacked and occupied Benin City as Britain expanded its political and commercial influence in West Africa. The British Museum alone holds more than 900 objects from Benin, and National Museums Scotland has another 74. Others were distributed to museums around the world.
The artifacts include plaques, animal and human figures, and items of royal regalia made from brass and bronze by artists working for the royal court of Benin. The general term Benin Bronzes is sometimes applied to items made from ivory, coral, wood and other materials as well as the metal sculptures.
Increasing demand for returns
Countries including Nigeria, Egypt and Greece, as well indigenous peoples from North America to Australia, are increasingly demanding the return of artifacts and human remains amid a global reassessment of colonialism and the exploitation of local populations.
Nigeria and Germany recently signed a deal for the return of hundreds of Benin Bronzes. That followed French President Emmanuel Macron's decision last year to sign over 26 pieces known as the Abomey Treasures, priceless artworks of the 19th century Dahomey kingdom in present-day Benin, a small country that sits just west of Nigeria.
But British institutions have been slower to respond.
Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Information and Culture formally asked the British Museum to return its Benin Bronzes in October of last year.
The museum said Sunday that it is working with a number of partners in Nigeria and it is committed to a "thorough and open investigation" of the history of the Benin artifacts and the looting of Benin City.
"The museum is committed to active engagement with Nigerian institutions concerning the Benin Bronzes, including pursuing and supporting new initiatives developed in collaboration with Nigerian partners and colleagues," the British Museum says on its website.
BLM inspires museum to 'reset'
The Horniman Museum also traces its roots to the Age of Empire.
The museum opened in 1890, when tea merchant Frederick Horniman opened his collection of artifacts from around the world for public viewing.
Amid the Black Lives Matter movement, the museum embarked on a "reset agenda,'' that sought to "address long-standing issues of racism and discrimination within our history and collections, and a determination to set ourselves on a more sustainable course for the future.''
The museum's website acknowledges that Frederick Horniman's involvement in the Chinese tea trade meant he benefitted from low prices due to Britain's sale of opium in China and the use of poorly compensated and sometimes forced labor.
The Horniman also recognizes that it holds items "obtained through colonial violence."
These include the Horniman's collection of Benin Bronzes, comprising 12 brass plaques, as well as a brass cockerel altar piece, ivory and brass ceremonial objects, brass bells and a key to the king's palace. The bronzes are currently displayed along with information acknowledging their forced removal from Benin City and their contested status.
"We recognize that we are at the beginning of a journey to be more inclusive in our stories and our practices, and there is much more we need to do," the museum says on its website. "This includes reviewing the future of collections that were taken by force or in unequal transactions."
Related story: Nigeria to build new museum for looted art
Friday, August 5, 2022
Amazon Prime Video launches local service in Nigeria
Amazon Prime Video today announced the launch of the localized version of its streaming service in one of Africa’s biggest markets: Nigeria. Just as it did in Southeast Asia some days back, the tech giant is attempting to boost its subscriber push in new markets like Africa by increasing its investment in local production, unveiling slates of localized originals and introducing discounted Amazon Prime membership offerings to customers.
Amazon Prime Video launched in Africa in 2016 as part of its global push across more than 200 countries worldwide, bringing some serious competition to Netflix’s global plan launched that same year. However, versions of the service available in the region have never featured the local-language interfaces, subtitling and original content offerings typical in more developed markets.
That changes today in Nigeria and the whole of Africa as the company plans to launch in other markets like South Africa. In a tweet by its official account, Prime Video Naija, the company said that customers in Nigeria can stream more than 20,000 original TV shows and movies within its ecosystem, such as “The Boys,” “All or Nothing,” “Reacher” and “All the Old Knives.” According to its website, the service will cost ₦2,300/month (~$4) after a seven-day trial. Thus, for the first time, users in Nigeria will be able to subscribe to Prime Video using their local currency, and unlike how most have accessed the platform for region-specific content in the past, they would not require a VPN to stream content on the service.
Prime Video and other streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Canal+ and Showmax are vying for Africa’s 2026-projected 15 million video-on-demand subscribers. According to Digital TV Research, an analytics firm, Prime Video has 600,000 subscribers in Africa and might add 1.5 million new subscribers compared to Netflix’s 3 million subscribers in the next four years.
To gain more market share amid a streaming war for African content and eyeballs, Prime Video has been collaborating with filmmakers and content creators in Nigeria regarding the production of original and licensed content. The past couple of months has seen the service make strategic moves, such as closing theatrical outlet agreements with Anthill Studios, Inkblot Productions and Evoke Studios, hiring Insight Publicis as its creative agency and recruiting senior executives like Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, head of Nigerian Local Originals, to develop original video content in Nigeria, Africa’s largest film industry.
Amazon Prime Video’s first Nigerian show is “Gangs of Lagos,” a local original crime action movie that follows three friends’ lives as they navigate the streets of Isale Eko in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city, scheduled to be ready for launch later this year.
Related stories: Video - Amazon Prime Video signs deal with Nollywood
Netflix involvement in Nollywood
Video - Nigerian short film Chuks premieres at Toronto International short Film Festival
Nigeria asks Google to block banned groups from YouTube
Nigeria asked Google to block the use of YouTube channels and livestreams by banned groups and terrorist organisations in the country, information minister Lai Mohammed said on Thursday.
Nigeria has been exploring ways to regulate social media usage in the country, Africa’s most populous. The country is home to millions of Internet users and platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok are popular.
YouTube “channels and e-mails containing names of banned groups and their affiliates should not be allowed on Google platforms”, Mohammed said he told Google executives in Abuja, the country’s capital.
Charles Murito, Google’s sub-Saharan African director for government affairs and public policy, in a statement said the company already has measures to address the Nigerian government’s concerns.
Those measures include a system for trained users to flag troublesome content, he added. “We share the same goals and objectives,” Murito said. “We do not want our platform to be used for ill purposes.”
The minister said the government was particularly concerned with online activities by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The government has labelled IPOB, a group campaigning for the secession of a south-eastern region of Nigeria, a “terrorist organisation”.
The YouTube concerns are part of an effort by the government, the minister said, to protect Nigerian Internet users from harmful effects of social media, especially ahead of a presidential election next year.
Nigeria suspended Twitter in June 2021 and blocked access to users after the social media giant removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari threatening to punish regional secessionists. The government lifted the Twitter ban six months later.
Wednesday, August 3, 2022
Video - Nigerian students opt for foreign studies due to local universities' long closure
Nigeria is experiencing a massive rise in education tourism. This is amid an indefinite strike action that has left public universities shut for months. Students are now seeking options in the UK, Canada, and other countries where they can continue their studies.
Video - Nigerian woman offers legal support, life skills to imamates
At least three-quarters of the total number of Nigerian prisoners are serving time without being sentenced. It's part of the gaps that exist in the country's criminal justice system. But one Nigerian woman is leading a drive to bridge the gap by offering inmates legal support, education and life skills. Here’s CGTN's Kelechi Emekalam with the story.
Friday, July 29, 2022
Video - Nigerian airlines see demand as the recovery gathers momentum
Africa has recorded a spike in air travel demand as governments gradually relax COVID-19 travel protocols. The International Air Transport Association says the continent accounted for almost 2 percent of the total world passenger air travel market in May 2022. Kelechi Emekalam takes a look at how Nigeria's air travel industry, one of the hardest hit by pandemic restrictions, is faring.
Video - Nigeria's medical council bans certificates issued from Ukrainian universities
Nigeria's Medical and Dental Council says it will no longer accept certificates issued by medical schools in Ukraine. CGTN's Kelechi Emekelan explains why.
Nigerian leader faces impeachment threats amid insecurity
Opposition lawmakers in Nigeria have threatened to impeach the country’s president Muhammadu Buhari over accusations he has failed to implement recommendations to end rising violence in the West African nation.
The lawmakers in the Nigerian House of Representatives said Thursday that they would join forces with their counterparts in the Senate who issued a six-month notice for Buhari’s impeachment on Wednesday just as the nation’s National Security Council announced plans for a new “strategy” to end the violence.
Impeachment of presidents in Nigeria is rare but such threats from lawmakers are not. Not much is expected of the latest impeachment threat which is coming just seven months to the end of Buhari’s second and final tenure as president. He has survived at least two past impeachment attempts since he became president in 2015 but none has seen the light of the day because they are usually partisan and initiated by the opposition.
The Nigerian presidency dismissed the latest impeachment threat as “ridiculous” and said it would welcome the collaboration of federal lawmakers in solving Nigeria’s problems.
“No one is asking them to waste their time attempting to impeach a democratically elected President at the end of his second term – certainly not their constituents,” a presidential spokesman said in a statement.
As the opposition in Nigeria’s lower legislative chamber briefed reporters about plans to impeach Buhari, the president met with Nigeria’s security chiefs during which they considered a new security strategy, according to Babagana Monguno, the country’s National Security Adviser.
“I know people are weary, people are tired, people are beginning to gravitate to other places for self-help,” Monguno told reporters, promising that “there will be a change in momentum” in the fight against crime. He did not share further details, but urged the media to be careful in what it reports.
The top security aide declined to speak on violent attacks in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, a worrying sign.
“We are in a very difficult situation,“ Monguno said. “Mr. President, understands people’s concerns about the growing insecurity but I can assure you that there is no straight cut and dried method of dealing with this thing unless all of us embrace each other.”
By Chinedu Asadu
Related stories: Nigeria shuts schools in Abuja over fears of attack
Nigeria shuts schools in Abuja over fears of attack
All schools have been told to shut and send children home amid security fears in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, and in nearby Nasarawa state.
Intelligence reports suggest armed groups are planning attacks in several states, including on the capital.
Schools, mainly in northern Nigeria, have become a target of kidnapping gangs in recent years - with hundreds of students held for ransom.
President Muhammadu Buhari is currently meeting with security chiefs.
Most private schools were in the middle of exams when they had to close on Wednesday afternoon.
An official at the association of private school owners in Abuja told the BBC that the directive to shut down had come from local authorities in the capital.
Those schools with adequate security arrangements would be allowed to hold a one-day prize giving ceremony at the end of next week, he said.
But the news has caused concern for parents in a city populated by many civil servants, who often send their children to private schools.
While some schools in Abuja had already closed for the term, the majority were not scheduled to close until next week.
He added that those with adequate security arrangements have been allowed to hold a one-day prize giving day many had been preparing for.
Abuja residents have been feeling uneasy since armed men broke into a prison in the city and released hundreds of criminals a few weeks ago.
On Sunday, at least three soldiers from an elite unit of presidential guards were killed in the Bwari district of the city.
They had been responding to threats of an imminent attack on the Nigerian Law School located in the area. Nearby Veritas University has since shut down and sent students home.
The next day, the government shut down one of its secondary schools in the Kwali suburb of Abuja after a security incident close by.
This level of insecurity in the city is unprecedented since President Buhari took office in 2015.
Security agencies have recently beefed up their security presence at strategic locations within the city centre.
But this seems to be doing little to allay fears, even amongst politicians.
This week, an MP told colleagues who were away from the city not to return for their own safety, highlighting the failures of Mr Buhari's government in dealing with widespread insecurity across the country.
On Wednesday, opposition senators gave the president a six-week ultimatum to find a solution to the security crisis or face impeachment, though they lack the numbers to do so.
Last year, there were attacks and mass abductions in at least 10 schools in Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger states.
By Nduka Orjinmo
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Video - High cost of diesel threatens manufacturing in Nigeria
The soaring cost of diesel is now threatening Nigeria's manufacturing sector as more and more companies shut down their operations. CGTN's Kelechi Emekalam with the details from Abuja.
Forgotten bomb kills 13 scrap scavengers in northeast Nigeria
Thirteen scrap-metal collectors in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state have died after a bomb they excavated blew up, security sources told AFP.
Sixteen metal scavengers from a displaced persons’ camp in Bama found the bomb while digging for scrap on Monday in the bush on the outskirts of town.
“The bomb exploded as they were pushing it in a cart toward the town, killing 13 and seriously injuring three,” Babakura Kolo, a leader in a local militia, said on Tuesday.
Kolo said the ordnance had apparently been dropped in 2015 during military operations to retake Bama from the Boko Haram armed group.
“It was dormant for seven years and buried in the sand but they managed to dig it out, not knowing it was a bomb,” said a second militia leader, Bukar Grema, who gave the same toll.
Nigeria’s military is battling to end a 13-year conflict spearheaded by armed groups like Boko Haram in the country’s northeast. It has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced 2.2 million more.
Boko Haram seized Bama in 2014 when they took over swaths of territory in northern Borno and declared a so-called caliphate.
In March 2015, Nigerian troops aided by Chadian soldiers clawed back most of the territory after months-long intensive ground and aerial operations.
Residents who had fled the town returned three years later, with many of them living in displaced camps as the town was substantially destroyed during the fighting to retake it.
Most of the displaced who live in camps rely on food handouts from aid agencies, forcing many to turn to felling trees in the arid region for firewood and scavenging for metal scraps they sell to buy food.
Armed groups have been targeting scrap collectors, accusing them of spying for troops and the militia fighting them.
Last month, fighters from the ISIL-linked Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group killed 10 scavengers in Goni Kurmi village near Bama where they had gone looking for metal, a week after they killed 23 collectors in nearby Dikwa district.
Nigeria’s fragile security architecture is collapsing
Earlier this month, attacks that took place within minutes of each other in different parts of Nigeria, and the apparent failure of the security forces to respond to them efficiently and in a timely manner, exposed how big of a threat lawlessness and impunity currently poses to the country and its people.
Late on July 5, heavily armed men on motorcycles raided the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre on the outskirts of Abuja and released more than 900 inmates, including more than 60 Boko Haram members in detention. The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) – an offshoot of Boko Haram now allied with the ISIL (ISIS) group – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Just hours before the Kuje incident, another group of heavily armed men had attacked a convoy carrying an advance security team for President Muhammadu Buhari in his home state of Katsina. A presidential spokesperson said the convoy carrying a team of security guards, as well as protocol and media officers, was on its way to Daura, Buhari’s hometown, to prepare for a visit by him when the attack took place. According to the presidency, two people in the convoy sustained minor injuries before the gunmen were repelled. On the very same day, bandits on motorcycles had also ambushed and gunned down Assistant Commissioner of Police Aminu Umar Dayi in another part of Katsina, not far from where the president’s convoy was attacked.
Nigerian security forces failed to respond effectively to all three attacks, proving yet again that they don’t have the capacity to properly defend themselves, let alone members of the public, against armed fighters.
While some of the inmates who escaped from the Kuje Custodial Centre were recaptured hours or at least days after the attack, many are still on the loose – and those who managed to slip from the grasp of the security forces appear to include some of the most battle-hardened Boko Haram fighters and bomb experts.
The authorities’ response to the attack on President Buhari’s convoy and the ambush of Assistant Commissioner Dayi and his team in Katsina was equally incompetent. Those who attacked the presidential convoy, like those who killed the assistant commissioner, were not captured but simply “repelled” meaning they got away with what they did and are still free to stage further deadly attacks. According to reports, the very same bandits who attacked Buhari’s convoy have already raided a nearby village since.
All this exposes the current state of Nigeria: A country where members of armed groups raid prisons, attack presidential convoys and brutally murder security officers with ease and impunity.
Indeed, the raiding the Kuje prison was only the latest instalment in the escalating attacks on prisons across the country. In 2021 alone, more than 5,000 inmates escaped thanks to such incidents. And “bandits” – the catchall phrase for criminal gangs masterminding frequent bouts of abduction, maiming, sexual violence and killings of citizens – have been staging bloody attacks on rural communities without much meaningful push back from security forces for at least a decade in northern parts of the country.
While the July 5 attacks represented a continuation of existing trends in many ways, they also marked a grim turning point in Nigeria’s fight against armed groups.
For ISWAP, the attack on the Kuje prison was a spectacular success, not only because it helped free several prominent members of the group, but also because it demonstrated that the group is now confident enough to stage a major assault on a supposedly highly protected prison in the capital city. Much of the group’s successes before this year were restricted to the North East, but in recent months, it has moved beyond its traditional influence zone in Borno, left imprints on Taraba, and driven westwards, gaining footholds in Niger, Kogi and even the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). After the Kuje jailbreak, it staged several other attacks on communities around Abuja. Now, there is no debating that even the most important and dearly guarded state institutions in Nigeria’s capital city are facing a very real threat from ISWAP.
The attacks on Buhari’s convoy and the deputy commissioner in Katsina state, meanwhile, clearly showed that Nigeria’s security forces are no longer able to protect themselves – let alone civilians – against bandits in certain areas of the country.
Upon independence, Nigeria inherited a deeply faulty security architecture from the British that was geared towards protecting only the political and economic elites in urban centres and leaving the rest of the population to practically fend for themselves.
Consecutive governments, especially during the military dictatorship between 1966 to 1999, failed to reform this faulty infrastructure which led to the security situation getting worse and worse in the peripheries. In recent years, the country’s economic downturn forced the security forces to further narrow the scope of their operations and put all the resources they have towards protecting the regime and its highest officials. This resulted in even the members of security forces themselves becoming overly vulnerable to attacks by “bandits” and armed groups, and perhaps most importantly, large swaths of Nigerians, especially in urban centres, starting to lose any trust they had in their country’s security forces.
The apparent collapse of Nigeria’s fragile and faulty security architecture may have immediate, and deadly, consequences for the public beyond the emboldening of bandits and armed groups. Namely, the security forces can turn on innocent civilians to protect their dignity and try to regain some respect.
Even before the failures experienced on July 5, we have witnessed some examples of this dangerous behaviour. In late June, for example, the soldiers who were sent to Yakurr in Cross River State to restore peace after a communal dispute reportedly turned their guns on the civilian population after one of their colleagues was killed in action. Local media reported that the soldiers shot at anything that moved, killed at least 10 people, and burned down several houses. Several other similar incidents have been reported in recent years.
After their failures on July 5, Nigeria’s security forces are likely feeling more incompetent and under threat than ever before. This could easily lead to many more tragedies where underfunded, underprepared and frustrated members of security forces turn their weapons on those they should be protecting, and collectively punish communities in order to regain respect, power and control.
If Nigeria is to ensure the safety of all its citizens, and effectively counter the threat posed by bandits and armed groups, the government should stop downplaying the failures of the security forces, and focus its efforts on repairing – and perhaps completely reshaping – the country’s faulty security architecture.
By Cheta Nwanze
Related stories: Jihadis Attack Jail in Nigeria's Capital, 600 Inmates Escape
Nigerian State Approves Carrying Guns to Defend Against Bandits
Monday, July 25, 2022
Video - Nigerians might miss out on Bread soon
There is a looming shortage of bread in Nigeria after bakers threatened to shut down operations. This is due to a shortage of raw materials and rising taxation. CGTN's Kelechi Emekalam reports from Nigeria.
Nigeria's Amusan wins 100 metres hurdles gold
Amusan broke the world record earlier on Sunday by running 12.12 in the semi-final at Hayward Field.
She recovered from a slightly slower start to put on a pristine performance over the barriers, .17 seconds clear of silver medallist Britany Anderson of Jamaica.
"The goal was to come out and to win this gold," said Amusan.
"I believe in my abilities but I was not expecting a world record at these championships. You know, the goal is always just to execute well and get the win. So the world record is a bonus."
Puerto Rico's Olympic champion Camacho-Quinn accelerated at the midway mark but lost a close battle with Anderson over the final strides after hitting the last hurdle, going home with bronze in her first World Championships.
"I got my nerves to be honest. It kind of showed on my face but I am just glad to come out here," said Camacho-Quinn.
"From this point on, it is only going to be faster ... I think we had the best event of the whole world champs."
Anderson told reporters she was pleased with her performance, despite clipping some hurdles.
"I feel like everyone is so excited now," she said. "I came out here to do what I had to do and I did it."
The final was without 2019 champion Nia Ali and medal contender Alaysha Johnson, both of the United States, after they hit hurdles and crashed out in the opening round. read more
The United States' Olympic silver medallist Kendra Harrison, whose 2016 record Amusan broke in the semi-final, was disqualified.
Amusan’s world record in the semi-final stunned the athletics world.
“Wow” tweeted sprint king Usain Bolt, while 200m champion Noah Lyles tweeted: "Are you kidding me?"
Amusan said she was shocked to have produced the record in the semi-final but knew she had it in her.
"I could not believe it when I saw it on the screen after the semis. But it was just a matter of time," she told reporters.
Monday, July 18, 2022
Video - Defending Champions Nigeria face hosts Morocco in semi-final showdown
Title holders and record winners, the Super Falcons of Nigeria will take on hosts Morocco in the semi-final of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations after they defeated the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon 1-0 in the quarter-finals. Striker Rasheedat Aji-bade scored the winner in the 57th minute for the victory that also automatically qualified Nigeria for a ninth FIFA Women's World Cup, next year.
Nigerian fintech owners bag jail term in US over $167million money laundering
The top executives of a United States-based fintech company, Ping Express have been sentenced to 27 months imprisonment for breaching money laundering rules.
The fintech executives who are Nigerians with the names Anslem Oshionebo and Opeyemi Odeyale pleaded guilty to contravening money laundering rules after sending $167 million to Africa unchecked in less than three years.
While Oshionebo is the chief executive officer, oyedale is chief operating officer and both are suspected to have laundered $160 million out the to Nigeria.
This was revealed by the US Department of Justice at the weekend as it added that the Ping Express failed to seek sufficient details about the sources or motives of the funds involved in the transactions, or the customers initiating the transmissions.
It also said part of the money sent to Nigeria was also suspected to be proceeds of internet fraud.
It went further to state that the company’s Information Technology/Business Development Manager, Aleoghena Okhumale, was said to have also pleaded guilty to knowingly transmitting illegally-derived funds.
Both Oshionebo and Oyedale were sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, but Okhumale bagged a prison sentence of 42 months.
Ping Express also admitted that it conducted money transmission business in states in which it was not licensed to do so, including Nevada, New Jersey, Utah, West Virginia, and Connecticut.
In addition, according to DOJ, one Collins Orogun admitted last week that he accepted a fee in exchange for transferring money for ‘romance scam’ fraudsters and other criminals.
In one instance, an Indiana woman sent $15,000 to ‘Carson Jacks’, a purported oil roughneck in the Gulf of Mexico she fell in love with online, after he told her he’d contracted malaria.
In another, a second Indiana woman sent $6,300 to ‘Thomas Ken,” a purported Irish ship captain she fell in love with online, to fix his ship.
In two years, Orogun received more than $1.3 million in cash, cashier’s checks, and wires into several US bank accounts he controlled and then quickly moved more than $1 million of the funds to Africa through Ping Express.
“He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and is set to be sentenced on Jan. 23, 2023,” the statement said.
Ping Express, the company, now faces five years of probation and a fine of up to $500,000. Sentencing has been set for December 19, 2022.
Monday, July 11, 2022
Nigerian Kemi Badenoch launches bid for UK’s PM
The MP for Saffron Walden said she supported lower taxes “to boost growth and productivity, and accompanied by tight spending discipline.”
Writing in The Times, she also hit out at “identity politics” and said Boris Johnson was “a symptom of the problems we face, not the cause of them.
“People are exhausted by platitudes and empty rhetoric. Loving our country, our people or our party is not enough,” she said.
“What’s missing is an intellectual grasp of what is required to run the country in an era of increased polarization, protectionism and populism amplified by social media.”
She said governing Britain today requires “a nimble centre-right vision” that “can achieve things despite entrenched opposition from a cultural establishment that will not accept that the world has moved on from Blairism.”
Badenoch’s declaration capped off a day that saw many Tories declaring allegiances in the leadership race.
Rishi Sunak declared his much-anticipated intention to run, enjoying public backing from Commons Leader Mark Spencer, former Tory Party co-chairman Oliver Dowden, former chief whip Mark Harper, ex-ministers Liam Fox and Andrew Murrison, and MPs Sir Bob Neill and Paul Maynard.
Kemi Badenoch’s recollection of her childhood in Nigeria brings tears to her eyes. It is only five months since the death of her father, Femi Adegoke, from a brain tumour.
Little could he have imagined that within three years of entering the government ranks, his daughter would be launching a bid to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.
But Badenoch said her father instilled in her a sense of “personal responsibility”. Last week, she quit the government to help force Johnson’s resignation.
In an interview with The Telegraph, she has now set out her reasons for launching a bid to lead the Conservatives. In short, she believes the government has lost its way.
“I think that we have accepted a consensus that is not right – that the Government should get involved in everything and do everything,” she said.
But Badenoch, who quit as equalities and local government minister in a joint move with four friends and colleagues last week, believed that the government is “doing many things badly and doing things in the wrong way.”
Nigeria's Tinubu picks Muslim senator as presidential running mate
Nigeria's presidential frontrunner Bola Tinubu on Sunday picked as his running mate a sitting Muslim senator and former governor of northeastern Borno state, the heartland of an Islamist insurgency that has killed and displaced thousands of people.
The move by Tinubu, who is also Muslim, breaks with past practice where presidential candidates from major political parties have chosen running mates from a different religion in a bid to foster unity in the country.
Tinubu, 70, was last month elected as the ruling All Progressives Congress party's candidate to succeed incumbent Muhammadu Buhari, who will step down next year after completing two terms.
A Yoruba Muslim from southwestern Nigeria, Tinubu told reporters after meeting Buhari in northern Katsina state that he had chosen Kashim Shettima, 55, to be his presidential running mate.
By picking Shettima, Tinubu may also be looking for a deputy broadly acceptable to powerbrokers in the north, which is a large voting block.
"He is competent, capable, reliable and able," Tinubu said.
Atiku Abubakar, the main opposition candidate and Tinubu's main rival, is a northern Muslim who has picked a Christian running mate from the south.
Since the end of military rule in 1999, Nigeria has followed an unwritten rule where power is shared between the largely Muslim north and mainly Christian south.
Growing insecurity will be a major election issue next year. A decade-long Islamist insurgency and attacks and kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs mostly in the northwest are some of the major security challenges.
During Shettima's 2011-2019 governorship, Borno state grabbed global headlines when Boko Haram militants abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok community in April 2014.
Shettima was among those who supported the release of low-risk detainees caught up in the government's fight against insurgents, as a good-will gesture.
By MacDonald Dzirutwe
Friday, July 8, 2022
Nigeria recaptures 27 inmates after jail attack claimed by Islamic State
Nigeria's security forces on Thursday recaptured 27 inmates who fled from a prison in the capital in Abuja following an attack claimed by Islamic State, the correctional service said.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for Tuesday's raid on the Kuje prison, which freed around 440 inmates, among them Islamist militants, raising fears that insurgents are venturing from their enclaves in the northeast.
Three of the attackers were killed in the encounter while several others escaped with bullet wounds, a Nigerian Correctional Service spokesperson said in a statement.
The prison attack has raised questions on the security of Nigeria's correctional facilities, especially those holding suspected militants.
Related story: Jihadis Attack Jail in Nigeria's Capital, 600 Inmates Escape
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Jihadis Attack Jail in Nigeria's Capital, 600 Inmates Escape
At least 600 inmates escaped in a jailbreak in Nigeria's capital city, officials said Wednesday, blaming the attack on Islamic extremist rebels.
About 300 have been recaptured, authorities said.
The “very determined” rebels attacked the Kuje maximum prison in Abuja on Tuesday night with “very high-grade explosives,” killing one guard on duty, according to Shuaib Belgore, permanent secretary of Nigeria's Ministry of Interior.
Explosions and gunfire were heard at about 10 p.m. in the Kuje area of Abuja when the attackers arrived and forced their way into the prison through a hole created by the explosives.
The Islamic extremist rebels who attacked the prison have waged an insurgency in the country’s northeast for over a decade. Their attack on the detention facility freed many of their members who are inmates, prison officials said.
“We understand they are Boko Haram. They came specifically for their co-conspirators,” said Belgore. “Right now, we have retrieved about 300 out of about 600 that got out of the jail."
Nigeria's jihadi rebels have carried out several jailbreaks in the country's northeast in recent years, but this is the first in the capital city.
Nigeria's extremist insurgency, carried out by Boko Haram and an offshoot known as the Islamic State Central African Province, is blamed for violence that has caused the deaths of more than 35,000 people and displaced more than 2 million people, according to the U.N. The prolonged instability, hunger and lack of health services caused by the insurgency have indirectly caused the deaths of more than 300,000 additional people, says the U.N.
The extremists' violence is the most serious security challenge in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with 206 million people, which also is battling violence in the northwest area by rebellious herdsmen and a separatist movement in the country's south.
By Chinedu Asadu
Nigeria's Barkindo, who led OPEC in turbulent times, dies at 63
Barkindo, 63, a veteran of the oil industry, was due to step down at the end of this month after six years in the top job at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
"We lost our esteemed Dr Muhammad Sanusi Barkindo," NNPC CEO Mele Kyari wrote on Twitter, adding that he died late on Tuesday.
The death is a "great loss to his immediate family, the NNPC, our country Nigeria, the OPEC and the global energy community," Kyari added.
Kyari said Barkindo died hours after meeting Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and giving the main speech at an energy summit in Abuja.
His tenure as the head of OPEC has been marked by global shocks that have battered the industry.
During his keynote speech in Abuja hours before his death, Barkindo said the oil and gas industry is "under siege" and still reeling from the enormous investment losses of recent years.
"In a very short timespan, the industry has been hit by two major cycles – the severe market downturn in 2015 and 2016, and the even more far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," Barkindo said.
Barkindo's career in the oil industry began in Nigeria in the early 1980s. He served in various capacities at the NNPC and represented Nigeria on OPEC's Economic Commission Board.
He was acting OPEC secretary general in 2006 before returning to the position 10 years later and has led the organisation through a turbulent oil market period including steering it towards greater cooperation with non-OPEC oil producers.
"Serving as Secretary General of OPEC for two terms has been the honour of a lifetime. Over the past six years, we have witnessed both challenging and historic moments, which have underscored time and again the importance of cooperation and teamwork," Barkindo said in his keynote speech on Tuesday.
Diamantino Azevedo, oil minister for OPEC member Angola, told Reuters that Barkindo was always striving to seek consensus for the good of the organisation.
After leaving OPEC, Barkindo was due to join U.S. think tank the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center as a distinguished fellow, the Council recently announced.
"This tragedy is a shock to the OPEC Family. We express our sorrow and deep gratitude for the over 40 years of selfless service that Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo gave to OPEC. His dedication and leadership will inspire OPEC for many years to come," the OPEC Secretariat said in a Tweet.
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Video - Discarded tyre recycling in Nigeria
Waste management is still one of the biggest concerns in Nigeria. Ifedolapo Runsewe, a banker turned recycler started the Free recycling company and has already recycled nearly 100,000 tyres into eco-friendly interlocking pavers, tiles, and other rubber products.
Interpol confirms arrest of suspected Nigerian cyber criminal in South Africa
The suspect, identified as James Junior Aliyu was arrested at an upmarket estate in Sandton, Johannesburg, after a takedown operation.
Members from the Interpol National Crime Bureau (NCB) in Pretoria with assistance from members of the SAPS Gauteng Highway Patrol Unit raided the upmarket estate at 10:00 on Wednesday, 29 June 2022, where they effected the arrest.
His arrest follows a widespread investigation involving law enforcement authorities from South Africa (SA) and the United States of America (USA).
Confirming his arrest, INTERPOL on its verified Twitter page wrote: ” Last week @SAPoliceService detained a suspected Nigerian cybercriminal allegedly involved in phishing, Internet scamming and MoneyLaundering INTERPOL’s newly-launched Financial Crime centre IFCACC is already following up on intelligence received during the arrest.”
Aliyu is accused of swindling dozens of US citizens millions in USD through email and text messages.
It was reported that Authorities in the USA, where the investigation originated have applied for his extradition.
The suspect’s case will be heard at the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on 05 July 2022.
By Fikayo Olowolagba
Related stories: Video - The Fall of the World's Flashiest Scammer Hushpuppi
The Hushpuppis And Nigeria’s Image
Monday, June 27, 2022
Nigerian Lawyer appears in court traditional witch doctor attire
A Nigerian lawyer caused a stir at the country’s Supreme Court on Thursday when he appeared in the full traditional attire of a traditional priest to attend court proceedings. Lawyer Malcolm Omirhobo was protesting the ruling of the Nigerian Supreme Court allowing the use of hijabs, which are headscarves won by Muslims, in public schools in the city of Lagos.
Missing former Nigerian diplomat found dead in US
The Tuckahoe Police Department on June 19 announced in a Facebook post that Etobo was missing and requested information from the public.
The 70-year-old diplomat at the time of his death, served as the Director and Deputy Head, Peacebuilding Support Office at the United Nations headquarters in New York between December 2006 and October 2013.
On June 24, the police announced that Etobo had been found dead and sent condolence message to his family.
A statement by the police said: “The Tuckahoe Police Department regrets to inform members of the community that Mr Ejeviome Otobo was located yesterday afternoon and is deceased.
“We would like to thank those of you who offered tips and tried to assist with the investigation. Our thoughts go out to the Otobo family during this difficult time.”
The Guardian gathered that until his death, he was a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in Peacebuilding and Global Economic Policy at the Global Governance Institute in Brussels, Belgium.
From February to August 2009, Otobo acted as the Assistant Secretary-General at the UN.
By Odita Sunday
Two priests killed in Nigeria in separate incidents
Two priests were killed over the weekend in Nigeria, one in Kaduna state and one in Edo state.
Fr. Vitus Borogo, a priest serving in the Archdiocese of Kaduna, was killed June 25 “at Prison Farm, Kujama, along Kaduna-Kachia Road, after a raid on the farm by Terrorists,” the chancellor of the Kaduna archdiocese said in a statement shared with ACI Africa.
The priest, who was age 50, was the Catholic chaplain at Kaduna State Polytechnic.
In Edo state, Fr. Christopher Odia was kidnapped from his rectory at St. Michael Catholic Church, Ikabigbo, Uzairue, around 6:30 am June 26. He was killed by his abductors, the Diocese of Auchi has announced.
Fr. Odia was 41, and the administrator of St. Michael’s and principal of St. Philip Catholic Secondary School in Jattu.
The Sun, a Nigerian daily, reported that a Mass server and a local vigilante who followed the abductors were shot and killed during Fr. Odia’s kidnapping.
More Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country worldwide — at least 4,650 in 2021, and nearly 900 in the first three months of 2022 alone.
According to the UK-based human rights foundation Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Kaduna state has become "an epicenter of kidnapping and violence by non-state actors, despite being the most garrisoned state in Nigeria.”
Earlier this month gunmen attacked a Catholic church and a Baptist church in Kaduna state, killing three people and reportedly kidnapping more than 30 worshippers, and more than 40 Christians were killed in an attack on a Catholic church in Ondo state on June 5.
Nigerian State Approves Carrying Guns to Defend Against Bandits
Nigerian northern Zamfara State will allow people to carry guns to protect themselves against armed bandits after authorities failed to curb a rise in kidnappings and killings.
The government has told police to issue firearm licenses “to all those who qualify and are wishing to obtain guns to defend themselves,” Hudu Yahaya, a spokesman for governor Bello Matawalle, said on his Facebook page. It’s intended “to deal with the recent escalating attacks, kidnapping and the criminal levies being enforced on our innocent communities,” he said.
Many states in Nigeria’s northern region, including Zamfara, have been targeted by armed militants and bandits who have been carrying out a growing number of kidnappings for ransom and murders. The violence has forced thousands to flee their homes. Crime is growing at the same time authorities are battling Islamist insurgents and facing separatist unrest in various parts of the country.
By Emele Onu
Basketball ban reversal comes too late for Nigeria women's national team, D'Tigress
Six weeks after withdrawing Nigeria from international basketball for two years, president Muhammadu Buhari's government have made a U-turn and reversed the ban. But it came too late for the women's national team, who have seen their place at the FIBA Women's World Cup taken up by Mali.
Ismaila Abubakar, an official at Nigeria's Sports Ministry, said last Thursday that the reversal came after a meeting between Sports Minister Sunday Dare and FIBA, and receiving guarantees from the Nigeria Basketball Federation [NBBF] to include all stakeholders in reconciliatory meetings going forward.
But that peace treaty is of little solace for D'Tigress players, who will not be able to compete at the FIBA showcase in September, after their place was given to Mali, who were the next-ranked team in their qualifying group. Nigeria had, ironically, beaten Mali in order to qualify.
NBBF President Musa Kida described the decision to reverse the ban as a major victory for Nigerian basketball, saying: "I am quite glad to see that this decision is reached, and it is a major victory for basketball. It gladdens our heart that the Federal Government has decided to return basketball to where it rightfully belongs."
But his happy response was certainly not shared by Adaora Elonu, captain of the Nigeria women's team, who told ESPN she'd rather not comment on the situation. Her team had beaten number three-ranked Australia, amongst others, to qualify for the World Cup.
A team member, who did not wish to be named, described the situation as "a nightmare that many of us are still trying to come to terms with," and told ESPN that the players were "distraught and pained" by the actions of the officials costing them a place "after we worked so hard to qualify."
Ike Diogu, captain of the men's national team, said the ban could have been even more devastating for basketball in Nigeria. It would have threatened the men's team's qualification for the 2023 FIBA World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics, and risked an even longer ban from FIBA for government interference.
"It was very devastating to basketball in Nigeria," Diogu told ESPN of the withdrawal. "The withdrawal was detrimental for us because I don't think people really understand how hard it was for us to get to the point where we are now.
"It took 10, 12 years just to get to the point where we could compete. If we had got a 5-year ban [from FIBA], we would have to start all over again and there is no guarantee it would get right back to where it is now, because there is a whole generation of young guys who would be miss out playing in these tournaments."
Diogu, who most recently played for Zamalek at the Basketball Africa League, has opted to sit out international hoops this season regardless of the ban, and will rather play in the Big3 Tournament for Snoop Dogg's team.
In any case, the convoluted situation in Nigeria is long-simmering, and really comes down to two rival factions who want control of the hoops governing body in the country.
Most recently, Nigeria's Sports Minister Sunday Dare had refused to recognise the election which had returned Musa Kida and his cabinet as the legitimate board of the NBBF.
This, even though the election was held under a Constitution approved by the Ministry, the Nigeria Olympic Committee and FIBA, and the election was held with a FIBA representative as an observer.
FIBA also sent a letter to Nigeria's government recognising the legitimacy of that election and the leadership of Kida. Instead, the government withdrew the country from international basketball and set up an interim committee.
Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri and Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka, both of whom are of Nigerian descent and represented the country internationally, had spoken out against the ban last month.
Ujiri released a letter saying, "Enough is enough.
"The leaders of the basketball ecosystem in Nigeria continue to rob our youth of their present and future while tearing the entire basketball community apart -- this needs to stop."
For his part, Udoka said just before leading his team out to Game 2 of the NBA Finals, that the issues with Nigerian basketball had not changed in the years since he represented the country: "It's a lot of the same stuff I dealt with as a player, which is disappointing."
High-level sources told ESPN that during the recent peace talks, FIBA made it clear that if the withdrawal were to stand, Nigeria would be handed an additional 5-year ban running concurrently with the period of withdrawal and lasting through to 2027.
FIBA's refusal to budge, and pressure from businesses, players, and fans, finally forced the ministry into a retraction. To help the ministry save face, the NBBF agreed to write a letter of apology and also agreed to Constitutional amendments.
"At our last board meeting, we resolved to put machinery in motion to bring every genuine stakeholder to the table," Kida said.
"We have also resolved to maintain a very high level of respect for the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Sports, as we recognise their supervisory role in line with global laws governing sports federations."
The NBBF board led by Kida -- and now recognised by the government as the legitimately elected leadership of basketball in the country -- will now be officially sworn in on July 1.
It is not the first time Nigeria has withdrawn a sports team from international play and then reversed the decision when faced with the dire consequences. In 2010, then-president Goodluck Jonathan announced the withdraw of Nigeria men's football team from international competition, but also made an immediate U-turn barely four days later when FIFA reacted by handing down a provisional ban on the country.
By Colin Udoh
ESPN
Related story: Nigeria withdraws from international basketball over NBBF crisis