A helicopter carrying 12 people crashed into a lagoon in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos on Wednesday, killing at least four people, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)said.
The helicopter operated by offshore energy transportation specialists Bristow Group, flying from an oil rig, crashed at around 3.30 p.m. (1430 GMT) in the Oworonshoki area of the city, shortly before it was due to land.
A rescue operation was continuing.
"We were watching the helicopter swaying in the air. And then it started to go down. As soon as it hit the water, we saw flames," said Nkoli Moka, who watched the crash from a car on the city's Third Mainland bridge.
"Four bodies have been recovered. Six people survived and two people are missing," said Fan Ndubuoke, a spokesman for the NCAA. The aircraft had been carrying 10 passengers and two crew.
Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited is part of Bristow Group, which provides helicopter transport to the worldwide offshore energy industry.
"Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited, confirmed today
that one of its helicopters was involved in an accident ... on approach to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at Lagos, Nigeria," said the company in a statement.
"The aircraft, a Sikorsky S-76C+, was returning from a drilling rig offshore," it said.
Reuters
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Video - Nigerian banks continue shaming agenda for delinquent debtors
Nigeria's Bankers Committee has resolved to press ahead with the naming and shaming of delinquent debtors and even threatened to apply market sanctions on affected individuals and corporations. This is despite the controversy it has raised and potential lawsuits.
Related story: Video - Banks in Nigeria publicly shaming debtors
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Suicide bomber kills 47 in Nigeria
An explosion at a crowded market in the north-east state of Borno in Nigeria has killed at least 47 people, officials say.
As many as 52 people are believed to have been injured, a military source told Reuters news agency.
The blast struck Jebo livestock market in Sabon Gari town in southern Borno at about 13:30 local time (12:30 GMT), sources said.
Suspected Boko Haram militants have have killed hundreds in the state.
It is not clear whether the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber or by a planted device.
Borno State has been at the centre of an Islamist insurgency, but in recent months Boko Haram has also targeted villages and towns in northern Cameroon as well as Chad and Niger.
Bombings intensified after the new Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to crush the group. Since he was sworn in last May, more than 800 people have been killed.
BBC
As many as 52 people are believed to have been injured, a military source told Reuters news agency.
The blast struck Jebo livestock market in Sabon Gari town in southern Borno at about 13:30 local time (12:30 GMT), sources said.
Suspected Boko Haram militants have have killed hundreds in the state.
It is not clear whether the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber or by a planted device.
Borno State has been at the centre of an Islamist insurgency, but in recent months Boko Haram has also targeted villages and towns in northern Cameroon as well as Chad and Niger.
Bombings intensified after the new Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to crush the group. Since he was sworn in last May, more than 800 people have been killed.
BBC
Nigeria blocks ISIL recruitement
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
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
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
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