Nigeria

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Blinken Visits Nigeria as Questions Swirl About Civilian Deaths and U.S. Security Ties

The Nigerian military conducted an airstrike last month on a religious festival in the northern part of the country, killing scores of Nigerian civilians. Thirty minutes later, the military launched a second missile, killing dozens more, including people trying to rescue victims of the first strike.

https://theintercept.com/2024/01/23/nigeria-civilian-deaths-antony-blinken/?

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U.S.-Trained Niger Junta Kicks Out U.S. Troops, Drone Base

The junta denounced the “condescending attitude” of an American delegation that tried to save a quarter-billion-dollar U.S. base in Niger.

https://theintercept.com/2024/03/19/niger-junta-throws-us-troops-drone-base/?

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? 1,000-troop withdrawal

Air Base 201 in Niger. Photo: Carley Petesch/AP The U.S. military will withdraw 1,000+ troops from Niger, in West Africa, after the country's army seized power in a coup. Why it matters: The troops are part of U.S. counterterrorism efforts against ISIS and an al-Qaeda affiliate in the region, Reuters reports. The junta is shifting its allegiance toward the Kremlin. The Pentagon is discussing backup drone bases with several countries.

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Female suicide bombers kill at least 18 in coordinated attack in Nigeria, authorities say

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Female suicide bombers targeted a wedding, a funeral and a hospital in coordinated attacks in northern Nigeria that killed at least 18 people, local authorities said Sunday.

https://apnews.com/article/boko-haram-bombing-nigeria-borno-female-suicide-e1ae2c6b0f1d86a5dffbad213b21c3d9?

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29 Nigerian children may be sentenced to death for protesting against cost-of-living crisis

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Twenty-nine children could be facing the death penalty in Nigeria after they were arraigned Friday for participating in a protest against the country’s record cost-of-living crisis. Four of them collapsed in court due to exhaustion before they could enter a plea.

https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-minors-death-sentence-costofliving-crisis-5ee0c4023575f31bbf569c3e49045d54?

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In Nigeria’s lithium boom, many mines are illegal and children do much of the work The growing demand for lithium has created a new frontier for mining in mineral-rich Nigeria. But it has come with a steep cost, exploiting its poorest and most vulnerable: its children. Their work, mostly in small-scale mines and unsafe sites, often provides material for Chinese businesses that dominate Nigeria’s laxly regulated extractive industry and are often blamed for illegal mining and labor exploitation. Read more.

Why this matters: The International Labour Organization estimates more than 1 million children work in mines and quarries worldwide, a problem particularly acute in Africa, where poverty, limited access to education and weak regulations add to the problem.   The Chinese embassy in Abuja said Chinese mining companies in Nigeria “operate in line with local laws and regulations.” Nigeria has laws requiring basic education and prohibiting child labor, but enforcement is a challenge, with many illegal mines in hard-to-reach areas. Corruption among regulatory and law enforcement officials is also a problem. The government said it’s pursuing reforms that would toughen laws.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas   Bitcoin mining is one of the suspected causes of the power outages disrupting life in Iran   Some in seafood industry see Trump as fishermen’s friend, but tariffs could make for pricier fish

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Nigeria’s Military Gets Billions in U.S. Aid. On Christmas Day, It Bombed Its Own Civilians Again.

On Christmas day, a Nigerian military aircraft bombed two villages, killing at least 10 civilians and wounding many more.

https://theintercept.com/2025/01/06/nigeria-airstrike-civilian-deaths/?

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Gunmen kill at least 52 people and displace hundreds in northern Nigeria

Gunmen have killed at least 52 people and displaced nearly 2,000 others over several days of attacks in Nigeria’s northern Plateau state, which has a history of violence between farmers and cattle herders, the national emergency agency said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna199958

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Boko Haram’s resurgence: Why Nigeria’s military is struggling to hold the line A resurgence of Boko Haram attacks is shaking Nigeria’s northeast, raising fears of a possible return to peak Boko Haram-era insecurity despite the military’s claims of successes. Read more.

Why this matters: Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown jihadis, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law. The conflict has spilled into Nigeria’s northern neighbors and resulted in the death of around 35,000 civilians and the displacement of more than 2 million others, according to the United Nations.   Federal lawmakers highlight the extremists’ growing sophistication and advanced weaponry, calling on the government to bolster military capabilities. The Nigerian military didn’t respond to a request for comment.   At its peak in 2013 and 2014, Boko Haram gained global notoriety after kidnapping 276 Chibok schoolgirls and controlling an area the size of Belgium. While it has lost much of that territory because of military campaigns, the new surge in Boko Haram attacks has raised fears about a possible return to the past.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US military shifts messaging in Africa, telling allies to prepare to stand more on their own   Nigeria has a food security problem as water for crops is harder to find

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Floods kill at least 111 as northern Nigeria battles climate change, dry spells and heavy rainfall

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Torrents of predawn rain unleashed flooding that killed at least 111 people in a market town where northern Nigerian farmers sell their wares to traders from the south, officials said Friday, predicting the death toll would grow.

https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-flood-deaths-mokwa-69dcc0b8c06a052e83643edb20838db6?

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Gunmen abduct more than 200 schoolchildren and 12 teachers in attack on Nigerian Catholic school

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Gunmen attacked a Catholic boarding school in a western region of Nigeria and abducted more than 200 schoolchildren Friday, the Christian Association of Nigeria said, in the latest in a spate of abductions in Africa’s most populous country.

https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-abductions-catholic-school-children-157834ff945cc4efde47d37bb6ed4a88?

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Number of children abducted in Nigerian school attack raised to more than 300

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A total of 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were abducted by gunmen during an attack on St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in north-central Nigeria’s Niger state, the Christian Association of Nigeria said Saturday, updating an earlier tally of 215 schoolchildren.

https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-school-abductions-dc3eaa3f1b9d910211e4a2af959ee7a9?

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Nigeria Kidnapping Attack

Fifty students escaped their captors after a mass kidnapping in Nigeria last week, a Christian organization revealed yesterday. The abduction is among the largest in the country’s history; more than 250 people remain captive, including students as young as 10 years old. The attack took place early Friday, when unidentified armed men stormed St. Mary's Private Catholic School in the country’s central Niger state, abducting 303 students and 12 staff members. It followed a deadly gun attack on a church in neighboring Kwara state, and came days after gunmen kidnapped 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi state. No group has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks, which have forced widespread school closures. Authorities have largely characterized violence in the region, including kidnapping-for-ransom attacks, as a clash over strained resources.  President Donald Trump has threatened to end all aid to Nigeria over the issue, accusing the government of failing to protect Christians. See previous write-up here.

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All 24 schoolgirls abducted last week in Kebbi in northwestern Nigeria have been rescued, Nigeria's president says

All 24 schoolgirls who were abducted by armed assailants from a school last week in Kebbi in northwestern Nigeria have been rescued, the country’s president announced Tuesday. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Why schoolchildren are often abducted in Nigeria and who the usual kidnappers are UN food agency projects northern Nigeria to experience hunger at unprecedented level in 2026 US signals broader efforts to protect Nigeria’s Christians following Trump’s military threat

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100 schoolchildren abducted in Nigeria are released but more are still held

MINNA, Nigeria (AP) — A total of 100 of the schoolchildren abducted from a Nigerian Catholic school last month and released over the weekend were hosted at a government-organized ceremony on Monday, many of them looking lost but relieved.

https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-children-abducted-26e3c2ae5619d5e79dc2f4d7e4d7147b?

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Tears of joy as Nigerian families reunite with kidnapped schoolchildren In a Christmas Eve reunion, villagers in north-central Nigeria cried and hugged schoolchildren who were held for a month after being seized in one of the largest mass abductions in the country’s history. The 130 schoolchildren and teachers were brought home in Niger state’s Papiri community late Wednesday, four days after their release, marking the last batch freed since the Nov. 21 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School. Read more.

Key points: School kidnappings driven by ransoms have become a major security issue in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.   Authorities earlier said 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were seized in the Niger state attack but later revised the number to 230, adding that all had now been released.   Most of the children were between 10 and 17 years old, the school said. Onyeka Chieme, one of the students, earlier told The Associated Press that gunmen threatened to shoot them during the attack.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ A timeline of abductions from schools in Nigeria ‘They said they’d shoot us’: Nigerian child recalls how he was taken in mass school abduction Blast at mosque in Nigeria kills 5 and injures more than 30 in apparent suicide attack Trump says US struck Islamic State targets in Nigeria after group targeted Christians

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Gunmen kill at least 30 villagers and abduct others during raid in northern Nigeria

MINNA, Nigeria (AP) — At least 30 villagers have been killed and several others are missing after gunmen raided a village in northern Nigeria’s Niger state, police said Sunday, the latest in a cycle of deadly violence in the conflict-hit region.

https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-attack-niger-state-kasuwandaji-village-0af1e084e174c2016f665e0b6988bcee?