Authorities in north-eastern Nigeria have begun digging a 27km (17 mile) trench around the University of Maiduguri to prevent attacks by Boko Haram Islamist militants. On Sunday three suicide bombers attacked the university killing themselves and a security guard. There has been a dramatic upsurge in violence in Maiduguri in recent months. Boko Haram, who … Read more
In 2013, thousands of young men formed a rag-tag militia and rounded up Boko Haram members in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, then handed them over to the military. The Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), as it later became known, was instrumental in driving the Islamist militants out of the strategic city. Since then, the ranks of … Read more
Aid agencies warn that humanitarian efforts against hunger in northeastern Nigeria are dangerously underfunded and some communities remain cut off from aid and their farms as the military continues to battle Boko Haram. Communities in northeastern Nigeria are facing the dual threats of hunger and the terrorist group known as Boko Haram. The zone has … Read more
After a night on the streets, the pack of young boys move into Maiduguri’s abandoned amusement park in the early morning to play on the broken-down rides. Shoeless and wearing ragged clothes, they sprint to the merry-go-round, its chipped candy-coloured paint bleached by the scorching sun. The horses are motionless but the boys laugh like … Read more
Boko Haram jihadists have killed six farmers who were working on their land near the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, civilian militia members and locals told AFP on Monday. Gunmen on motorcycles attacked a group preparing fields for the rainy season outside the village of Amrawa, 16 kilometres (10 miles) from the Borno State capital, … Read more
Tens of thousands of people who fled Boko Haram in north-east Nigeria are now facing a severe lack of water, on top of already widespread food shortages and security threats, the AFP news agency reports, quoting aid workers. For the past week supplies have been low at the Muna camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) … Read more
Tens of thousands of people who fled Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria are facing a severe lack of water, compounding widespread food shortages and security fears, aid workers said on Monday. For the past week supplies have been low at the Muna camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the city of Maiduguri after one … Read more
The Nigerian army says that one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls has been found, along with her six-month-old baby. She was discovered by soldiers investigating suspected members of Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Nigeria’s military said the young woman is undergoing medical checks. A total of 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram from the … Read more
The Nigerian army says that one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls has been found, along with her six-month-old baby. She was discovered by soldiers investigating suspected members of Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Nigeria’s military said the young woman is undergoing medical checks. A total of 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram from the … Read more
Families of the Nigerian “Chibok girls” freed by Islamist group Boko Haram say they are being closely guarded and were not allowed home for Christmas. Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls in April 2014, but freed 21 of them in Octoberafter negotiations with the Red Cross. The freed girls have been in government custody since their … Read more
Buhari orders probe of sexual and rights abuses in IDPs camps A 17-year-old girl has told of how a policeman raped her and put her in the family way at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in the Northeast. She told Human Rights Watch (HRW): “One day he demanded to have sex with me. I … Read more
Islamic extremists have killed eight soldiers and wounded 17 in two attacks in northeastern Nigeria, the country’s military said Monday. The attacks bring the official toll to 10 troops killed and 24 wounded this past week after a lull during which the extremists confronted a leadership struggle. The Islamic State group’s West Africa Province claimed … Read more