In Nigeria, the released Dapchi girls left Damaturu in midafternoon Wednesday, continuing their 135-kilometer journey to Maiduguri as part of a heavily secured military convoy. Nigerian state radio said the girls abducted from the Government Science and Technical College in February were first seen at Dapchi General Hospital before being…
The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement has been signed by 80 percent of African Union member nations, paving the way for expanded markets and economic growth and development. Eighty percent of the 55 AU nations heeded the call of AU Chairman Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, and AU…
As Nigeria deals with the worst outbreak of Lassa fever on record, medical professionals at Irrua in Edo state – the epicenter of the emergency – are dealing with high caseloads and long hours. At least 365 cases of the highly fatal hemorrhagic disease have been recorded across the West…
Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji of Nigeria has been named the new president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, for a three-year term that begins immediately. Eboe-Osuji, who said he was deeply honored by his election, has served at the ICC since March 2012 and continues his term through…
United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson headed to Chad and Nigeria on Monday, resuming his tour of African nations after briefly falling ill at the weekend while in Kenya. While in N’Djamena, Tillerson was expected to focus on counterterrorism efforts in West Africa, where Chad plays a key role…
International humanitarian aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has pulled out of its medical operations in Rann, Nigeria, following last week’s violent attack on humanitarian aid workers. The group said it evacuated 22 national and international staff following the deaths of at least four aid workers killed during an attack…
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said Sunday it is expanding efforts to locate more than 100 missing girls abducted from the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi last week. Spokesman Olatokunbo Adesanya said additional air assets including Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms and helicopters were deployed to Yobe…
As Nigeria works to get a handle on its own Lassa fever outbreak, the World Health Organization has announced a new case affecting Guinea and the Liberian communities where the deceased patient traveled. The patient from Guinea died in January, leaving public health investigators to follow up on more than…
Nigeria’s Minister of Finance has appealed to global leaders to treat practices of tax evasion by multinational corporations in her country as foreign corrupt practices. Kemi Adeosun made her case during the first global conference of the Platform for Collaboration on Tax in New York City. The platform partners –…
Bonhams in London will handle the sale of Tutu, the recently rediscovered portrait of Ife royal princess Adetutu Ademiluyi painted in 1974 by Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu. “In a pioneering move, the sale will be broadcast live to a Bonhams auction event in Lagos, where bidders will be able to…
Indian authorities say they’re working closely with their West African counterparts to find 22 of their mariners aboard an oil tanker that went missing off the coast of Benin late last week. “We are making all out efforts in coordination with Nigerian and Benin naval authorities to trace the missing…
The UN Refugee Agency on Thursday expressed “great concern” over the forced return to Cameroon of 47 people who sought refuge in Nigeria, most of whom had submitted asylum claims. “Their forcible return is in violation of the principle of non-refoulement, which constitutes the cornerstone of international refugee law,” the…
In Nigeria, the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) campaign appears undeterred by the detention of its activists and plans a second day of protests in Abuja today. The planned protests at Unity Fountain followed police action Tuesday against BBOG, an organization launched in 2014 after the Boko Haram abduction of…
Scientists working in Nigeria say they’ve found evidence that glass was locally produced there rather than imported from Europe, the Middle East or other historically known centers of production. The scholars from Rice University, University College London and the Field Museum date the glass found at Igbo Olokun, on the…
Women from Kenya and Nigeria are among five people singled out as everyday heroes by philanthropist Bill Gates in a recent post on his popular Gates Notes blog. “No masks or capes but these heroes are saving the world,” writes Gates before listing Segenet Kelemu and Adaora Okoli among them….