About 24,000 people were stopped from leaving Nigeria in the 15 months to March because of suspicion they could become involved in militant Islamism, prostitution or slavery, the country's immigration agency has said.
Many of them were suspected to be heading to join militant groups such as Islamic State (IS), the agency added.
Others tried to reach "greener pastures" to escape poverty, it said.
Nigeria is Africa's most populous state, and has high levels of poverty.
It has also been hit by a six-year insurgency waged by militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to IS in March.
The agency said Nigeria was a "catchment area for recruiters because of the high number of jobless people" in the West African state.
It had therefore intensified immigration checks to bar young Nigerians with "doubtful intentions" from leaving the country.
"The terrorist group has a syndicate that arranges travel documents, visas, ticket and money for their recruits," it added, in a statement.
Officials were also tackling illegal immigration, said Chukwuemaka Obuah, the agency's spokesman.
"We have always had problems of Nigerians going abroad for greener pasture. We look at the age of the intending traveller and the person he is travelling with, put them by the side and profile them thoroughly," he added.
The UN's Office on Drugs and Crime estimates West African trafficking victims, many of whom come from Nigeria, make up about 10% of those forced into sex work in Western Europe.
Last week, India detained two Nigerian students for allegedly trying to cross to Pakistan with the aim of finally reaching Iraq to join IS, media reports said.
Boko Haram's alliance with IS may be motivating young Nigerians to join the Middle Eastern group, reports the BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi from Nigeria's capital Abuja.
They may have also been influenced by IS propaganda available on social media sites, he adds.
BBC
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Nigerian military promises to punish soldiers caught turturing civilian
The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, in a statement on Monday, vowed that the Army would ensure that the soldiers involved were punished.
He said the photograph of a soldier flogging a robbery suspect, who was stri*ped bare and lying in a dirty drainage, which appeared on the front page of a major national newspaper and other social media platforms, had done incalculable damage to the image of the service.
Usman said the action of the soldiers contradicted the ethics of the military tradition and professionalism in the service.
The statement reads in part: “The attention of The Nigerian Army has been drawn to a front page photograph of some soldiers maltreating a suspected robber at Mararraba, Nasarawa State, on the front page of today’s edition of Daily Trust newspaper.
“Sadly, it is also trending on the Social Media. There is no doubt the photograph has done incalculable damage to the image of the service. The act was unfortunate and at variance with military ethics and professionalism.
“The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the public that the perpetrators of the offence have been identified, summoned and would face disciplinary action”.
Usman said the Army had also reached out to the management of the newspaper over what he termed its “poor and worrisome editorial judgment”, as represented by the front page cover given to the photograph.
“Alerting appropriate Nigerian Army authorities would have been a better option that will be met with prompt response”, he said.
“We wish to assure the public that the Nigerian Army would continue to protect and respect human rights and that this regrettable incidence should not be used as a yardstick to judge the entire Army”, Usman added.
Information Nigeria
President Muhammadu Buhari appoints anti-corruption advisers
The seven-member Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption is mostly made up of academics.
Mr Buhari was elected in May, largely on a promise to tackle corruption.
He has said he believes government officials have stolen about $150bn (£96bn) from the public purse over the past decade.
"The committee's brief is to advise the present administration on the prosecution of the war against corruption and the implementation of required reforms in Nigeria's criminal justice system," said presidential spokesman Femi Adesina.
However, Mr Adesina was unable to say when the committee would report back to the president with its recommendations.
The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says corruption is a massive drain on Nigeria's public finances and President Buhari's anti-corruption stance was a key factor in his election victory.
The difficult part will be ending a crooked culture deeply engrained in many government departments, our correspondent adds.
In a meeting with US President Barack Obama last month, President Buhari appealed for help in finding and returning government money he said had been stolen and was being held in foreign bank accounts.
Speaking on Monday, Mr Buhari criticised the way large loans had been diverted from the government projects for which they were intended.
BBC
Monday, August 10, 2015
Video - Nigerian Start-up producing Clean bio-fuel to improve Nigerian lives
A Nigerian startup is producing green energy from local flora, providing communities with an environmentally friendly, healthier and more affordable fuel option. The company hopes the bio-fuel will replace dangerous smokes and gases currently used in many homes.
President Muhammadu Buhari cleans up state payment system
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered ministries to use only approved government bank accounts to make payments, the vice president's office said on Sunday, part of a drive to improve transparency and clamp down on corruption.
Buhari, who took office in May after being elected on promises to fight endemic graft in Africa's biggest economy, has said he believes officials have stolen around $150 billion from the public purse over the past decade.
Under the new system, all receipts due to the government or any of its agencies must be paid into accounts maintained by the central bank unless specific permission has been granted not to do so.
"President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered each and every federal government ministry, department or agency to start paying into a Treasury Single Account (TSA) for all government revenues, incomes and other receipts," said Laolu Akande, a spokesman for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
"This measure is specifically to promote transparency," he said, adding that the TSA would be linked to other government bank accounts.
Akande said the new system would end the use of "several fragmented accounts for government revenues", which he said had led to "the loss or leakages of legitimate income meant for the federation account".
The effectiveness of this change in public accounting remains to be seen since corruption and mismanagement of public funds have been entrenched in Nigeria's political system for decades.
Last month Buhari said his administration would trace and recover what he called "mind-boggling" sums of money stolen from the oil sector, which provides about 70 percent of revenues of the government in Africa's biggest crude producer.
Reuters
Buhari, who took office in May after being elected on promises to fight endemic graft in Africa's biggest economy, has said he believes officials have stolen around $150 billion from the public purse over the past decade.
Under the new system, all receipts due to the government or any of its agencies must be paid into accounts maintained by the central bank unless specific permission has been granted not to do so.
"President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered each and every federal government ministry, department or agency to start paying into a Treasury Single Account (TSA) for all government revenues, incomes and other receipts," said Laolu Akande, a spokesman for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
"This measure is specifically to promote transparency," he said, adding that the TSA would be linked to other government bank accounts.
Akande said the new system would end the use of "several fragmented accounts for government revenues", which he said had led to "the loss or leakages of legitimate income meant for the federation account".
The effectiveness of this change in public accounting remains to be seen since corruption and mismanagement of public funds have been entrenched in Nigeria's political system for decades.
Last month Buhari said his administration would trace and recover what he called "mind-boggling" sums of money stolen from the oil sector, which provides about 70 percent of revenues of the government in Africa's biggest crude producer.
Reuters
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