Abuja - The African Mirror

Oct

2022

US and UK warn of possible attack in Nigeria’s capital

THE United States and Britain warned of a possible terrorist attack in Nigeria's federal capital Abuja, especially aimed at government buildings, places of worship and schools, among other targets. Nigeria is fighting an Islamist insurgency mainly in the northeast, but in July the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a raid on a prison in Abuja, which freed around 440 inmates, raising fears that insurgents were venturing from their enclaves. The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria said "there is an elevated risk of terror attacks in Nigeria, specifically Abuja" and added that shopping malls, law enforcement facilities and international organisations were among the…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

Over 440 inmates on run after raid on Nigerian prison

NEWS

ABRAHAM ACHIRGA ISLAMIC STATE claimed responsibility for a raid on a Nigerian prison in the capital Abuja which freed around 440 inmates, raising fears that insurgents are venturing from their enclaves in the northeast. Shuaib Belgore, permanent secretary at the interior ministry, told journalists outside the Abuja prison - which has 900 inmates - that a security officer was killed during Tuesday night's raid and three others were injured. He said suspected Boko Haram attackers came for members who were held in the prison. "They came specifically for their co-conspirators, but in order to get them ... some of them…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s electricity grid collapses for the second time in a month

NEWS

NIGERIA'S national electricity grid has collapsed for the second time in a month, the federal ministry of power said, leaving the parts of the country it serves, including the capital Abuja and Africa's biggest city Lagos, without power. The power ministry said the outage had occurred overnight. It gave no estimate of when the grid, which serves around 117 million people, would be back in operation. The ministry said in a statement that a "detailed investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the recurring grid failure is ongoing", as was the process of restoring supply. While power outages in…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Gunmen kill Nigerian army general

NEWS

GUNMEN shot dead a Nigerian army general as he was travelling by car on a major road from the capital, Abuja, the army has announced, in the first such fatal gun attack on a senior serving military officer. Armed robberies and kidnappings for ransom, particularly in the northwest, have become so frequent that many are afraid to travel by road. Growing nationwide lawlessness led legislators in April to call on the president to declare a state of emergency. Major General Hassan Ahmed was killed when gunmen attacked his vehicle along the Lokoja-Abuja road on Thursday, army spokesman Brigadier General Onyema…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

We found traces of drugs in a dam that supplies Nigeria’s capital city

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

PHARMACEUTICALS – drugs used to prevent or treat human and animal diseases – are essential for health and well-being. But the increasing use of these drugs means that remnants of them are showing up in the aquatic environment. They are contaminating our waters. IFENNA ILECHUKWU, Lecturer of Environmental Chemistry, Madonna University, Nigeria Pharmaceuticals are part of a group of substances known as emerging contaminants. Although they are potentially harmful to human and ecological health, they are yet to be regulated and routinely monitored in the environment. Most conventional treatment plants typically do not remove emerging pollutants because they were not…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Police fire teargas at Nigerians protesting at alleged brutality

NEWS

ANGELA UKOMADU AND LIBBY GEORGE NIGERIAN police have used teargas to disperse dozens of people in the capital Abuja who had gathered to protest at alleged brutality by members of a special police unit, witnesses said. Protesters, some holding placards, ran as clouds of teargas hung in the air. Multiple people at the incident said on Twitter that police had fired the canisters. A spokesman for the police did not immediately respond to a message and call requesting comment. "They poured teargas on each and every one of us, it's so hot I had to put water on my face.…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Blasphemy convictions spark Nigerian debate over sharia law

NEWS

ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM and ABRAHAM ACHINGA FUAD Adeyemi, an imam in Nigeria's capital Abuja, respects those who believe that a 22-year-old man accused of sharing a blasphemous message on WhatsApp should be punished. But he thinks the death sentence is too harsh. He was referring to a ruling handed to Yahaya Aminu Sharif by a sharia court in the northern state of Kano in August. On the same day, the court sentenced a 13-year-old boy, Omar Farouq, to 10 years in prison, also for blasphemy. The sentences caused an international outcry and sparked a broader debate in Nigeria about the role…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Grounded by COVID, Nigerian diners get a taste of air travel

COVID-19

ABRAHAM ACHIRGA MISSING the thrill of air travel during the coronavirus lockdown? A Nigerian restaurant is now offering its customers the illusion of flight without them ever having to leave the ground. The diners at Urban Air in the Nigerian capital Abuja sit on plush white seats and peruse a flight-themed cocktail menu beside windows illustrated with blue skies and puffy white clouds. Some customers take selfies as staff leave the ‘cockpit’ to serve them. “The environment is really amazing considering this corona stuff,” said IT worker Fatima Garba during her second visit. “It’s been a while since we’ve all…