NEWSWORTHY
Nigerian president warns vote-riggers of 'ruthless' response
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said Monday he had ordered the police and military to be "ruthless" with vote-riggers, as preparations were made for rescheduled elections. Presidential and parliamentary elections were put off just over five hours before polls were due to open on Saturday, causing ...
In Nigeria's tight election, vote of war-weary Christians seen as key
Ask worshippers at St. Charles Catholic Church what they want most from Nigeria's presidential election, and the answer is peace. "We don't want any more bloodshed in Nigeria," said Everistus Suburu, vice chairman of the church in the northern state of Kano. "We are tired ...
Nigerian candidates blame each other over surprise delay in election
Nigeria's top candidates on Saturday condemned the surprise last-minute decision to delay the presidential election for a week until Feb. 23, blaming each other but appealing to Africa's largest democracy for calm. The decision, announced five hours before polls were to open, is a costly ...
Nigeria delays election — just hours before its start — until Feb. 23 over unspecified 'challenges'
Nigeria's electoral commission delayed the presidential election until Feb. 23, making the announcement a mere five hours before polls were set to open Saturday. It cited unspecified "challenges" amid reports that voting materials had not been delivered to all parts of the country. Residents of ...
Bellwether for stumbling African democracy: Nigeria goes to the polls
When Nigerians go to the polls on Saturday, there'll be much more at stake than the presidency and seats in the parliament of Africa's most populous nation. Democracy is on the back foot in Africa, and a credible and widely accepted outcome will go some ...
Nigeria in battle against fake news, sometimes lethal, ahead of elections
In Nigeria fake news can be so outlandish, yet widely believed, that the president recently felt compelled to declare that he had not died and been replaced by a Sudanese body double. "It's (the) real me, I assure you," President Muhammadu Buhari said late last ...
Islamic State says it attacked Nigerian governor's convoy, leaving 42 dead
Islamic State claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack on the convoy of a state governor who was headed to a rally in northeastern Nigeria ahead of Saturday's presidential election. The group said in a statement on its Aamaq news agency that 42 people were ...
Trump-linked lobbyists help Nigerian politician once deemed persona non grata gain U.S. access
Until last month, Nigerian presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar had a problem. He was persona non grata in the U.S. after cropping up in connection with several corruption investigations. Then the cloud lifted. Years after he'd last been seen in the U.S., Abubakar surfaced in Washington ...
Thousands of Nigerians have fled across Lake Chad since Boko Haram launched attacks in and around the fishing town of Baga last month, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday. "An estimated 6,000 refugees have fled Nigeria's restive Borno state since December 26, when ...
Deadly Boko Haram attack in northeast Nigeria sends thousands fleeing
Thousands of people have fled a remote town in northeast Nigeria, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Wednesday, after Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base and torched aid buildings. Monday's attack in Rann, in Borno state, has been blamed on the Islamic State West ...
Many people collecting leaking gasoline feared dead after tanker crashes, catches fire in Nigeria
Nigerian police Saturday said many people are feared dead after a gasoline tanker veered off the road, caught fire and exploded as people tried to recover fuel. The vehicle crashed in the Odukpani area of the southeastern state of Cross River, just north of the ...
More than 30,000 flee Boko Haram violence in northern Nigeria: U.N.
Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in northeast Nigeria after an increase in violence in the Boko Haram conflict, the United Nations said on Wednesday. "More than 30,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) have arrived in Maiduguri, mainly from Baga, in recent weeks," ...
