At least 24 people are reported to have been killed in suicide bomb blasts in the north-east Nigerian town of Mubi. The explosions happened in and around a mosque as Muslims were preparing for afternoon prayers. No-one has yet said they were behind the bombings, but the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has launched previous … Read more
The majority of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by militants from the town of Dapchi last month have been returned, the government says. Nigeria’s Ministry of Information says 76 of the 110 schoolgirls were brought back in the early hours of this morning following “back channel efforts”. The army then “paused” its operations in the area … Read more
The kidnapping of 110 girls from a school in the north-eastern Nigerian town of Dapchi bears striking similarities to the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok – right down to the contradictory information from the authorities. The BBC’s Stephanie Hegarty went to the town to visit the school and meet families of those missing … Read more
Former President John Dramani Mahama has expressed sympathies over the recent raid by terrorist group Boko Haram in Dapchi in Yobe State in Nigeria. About 50 girls are said to have gone missing Monday after an attack said to have been launched by the insurgent group. Though the attack saw students and teachers fleeing into … Read more
There is growing anger among the parents of a group of missing Nigerian schoolgirls following an attack by Boko Haram on Monday night. Parents of pupils who disappeared from their boarding school in Dapchi told the BBC their girls were still missing. The state government has apologised for issuing a statement on Wednesday that said … Read more
Schoolgirls and teachers in north-eastern Nigeria have escaped an attack on a boarding school by Boko Haram jihadists, witnesses say. They say the militants in pick-up trucks arrived in the town of Dapchi, Yobe state, on Monday evening, shooting and setting off explosives. Alerted by the noise, staff and students were able to flee. In … Read more
At least 20 people have been jailed in Nigeria for being members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The accused were sentenced to jail terms of between three and 15 years as part of the ongoing mass trials of more than 1,000 suspects at a military facility in the north-central town of Kainji. Among … Read more
More than 1,000 Boko Haram suspects go on trial More than 1,000 suspected Boko Haram militants will appear before judges in Nigeria today, as the largest mass trial in the country’s history resumes. The accused, some of whom have been held for years, are expected to be arraigned before the civilian courts at a military … Read more
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has released 13 people who were kidnapped in north-eastern Nigeria last year, the government says. They include 10 women seized during an attack on a police convoy and three lecturers from Maiduguri taken during an oil exploration trip. President Muhammadu Buhari’s office said their release was facilitated by the … Read more
Boko Haram Islamists have published a video showing three kidnapped members of an oil exploration team, after an ambush in northeast Nigeria earlier this week that killed at least 50. In the four-minute video, the trio identify themselves as being from the University of Maiduguri and call on the government to meet the jihadists’ demands … Read more
‘More than 40’ killed in battle with Boko Haram in Nigeria More than 40 people have died in north-east Nigeria during an attempt to free people who had been ambushed in a convoy by militant Islamist group Boko Haram, sources have told the BBC. At least five members of an oil exploration team were killed … Read more
Nine Nigerian soldiers and a civilian have been killed during an operation to free 10 people abducted by militant Islam group Boko Haram, the army says. The abducted group of geologists and surveyors were rescued during the battle, it added. They were in a convoy that was ambushed as it was returning to north-eastern Maiduguri … Read more
Gunmen believed to be Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped 10 members of an oil exploration team in northeast Nigeria, colleagues and the state-run oil firm said on Wednesday. “About 10 staff from the survey and geological department of the University of Maiduguri were abducted on Tuesday,” said Ndu Ughamadu of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. … Read more
Four people were killed in suicide bomb attacks at a camp for those displaced by the Boko Haram conflict in northeast Nigeria, the emergency services said on Monday. Abdulkadir Ibrahim, from the National Emergency Management Agency, said the blasts happened at about 11:20 pm (2220 GMT) on Sunday, just outside the Borno state capital of … Read more
Three people were killed in suicide bomb attacks at a camp for those displaced by the Boko Haram conflict in northeast Nigeria, the emergency services said on Monday. Abdulkadir Ibrahim, from the National Emergency Management Agency, said the blasts happened at about 11:20 pm (2220 GMT) on Sunday, just outside the Borno state capital of … Read more
Police in the northern Nigerian city of Kano said they arrested five suspected Boko Haram militants after a gunfight Sunday, marking a flare-up of jihadist violence in the city. The suspects were taken into custody on the outskirts of the city as they were about to launch attacks on markets and “places of worship”, Kano … Read more
Mangoes and watermelons, prayer mats and Chinese-made utensils are again filling the stalls of Maiduguri’s markets, as they recover after years of Boko Haram violence. Traders sweating behind wheelbarrows overloaded with goods fight their way through the crowded alleyways in northeast Nigeria’s biggest city. But in the birthplace of Boko Haram, appearances are often deceptive. … Read more
Dozens of Boko Haram suspects have died in Cameroon custody, rights group Amnesty International said Thursday, with security forces brutally torturing them in the fight against the jihadist group. Though Boko Haram originated in Nigeria, the Islamic State-affiliated group has carried out frequent attacks in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The NGO said it had found … Read more
Suspected Boko Haram fighters have been “brutally tortured” by security forces in Cameroon, a rights group says. Amnesty International said in a report that the suspects, including women and children, were beaten, water-boarded and forced into stress positions. The cases allegedly happened between 2013 and 2017, and dozens of detainees died as a result, it … Read more
Nigeria is reviving its search for oil in the country’s conflict-riven northeast, aided by China and emboldened by gains made against Boko Haram. President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is exploring inland basins ranging from central Benue state to Boko Haram’s heartland in northeast Borno. Renewed attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in the southern Niger delta … Read more