Nigeria - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Nigeria’s grid collapses weeks after tariffs raised for wealthier consumers

NIGERIA'S creaking grid collapsed for the fifth time this year in the early hours, highlighting the country's inability to provide reliable power less than two weeks after raising tariffs for wealthier consumers by 230%. A fire erupted at a power generating station in the south just before 3 a.m. (0200 GMT), the state-owned power transmission company said, plunging large parts of the country into darkness. The system was restored by the early afternoon, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said. It gave no detail on how many people were affected, but there were angry comments across social media. "The way…

Apr

2024

By CAMILLUS EBOH

Nigeria’s anti-graft agency recovers nearly $30 mln in corruption probe

NEWS

NIGERIA'S anti-corruption agency has recovered $28.88 million after launching an investigation into alleged fraud at a government ministry responsible for tackling poverty, a spokesperson said. Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, was suspended in January less than six months after her appointment by President Bola Tinubu, who came to power last year on a promise to revive growth and fight corruption. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) spokesperson Dele Oyewale said in a statement that the probe, ordered by the president, had uncovered a "system and intricate web of fraudulent practices". So far, 32.7 billion naira ($28.43 million)…

Apr

2024

By BUKOLA ADEBAYO and NOAH ANTHONY ENAHORO

Girls suffer most as Nigeria kidnap scourge hits school attendance

NEWS

A kidnapping crisis in northern Nigeria is costing girls an education as parents choose safety over school a decade since the mass abduction of 276 female students in the town of Chibok caused global outrage. Jihadist group Boko Haram carried out the 2014 Chibok raid, but since then hundreds of children have been seized by criminal gangs using the same tactic of mass school kidnappings to seek ransom payments from parents. For some families, sending their children to school is a risk they cannot take. "We now have a situation where children are starting to choose between going to school and staying…

Apr

2024

By AHMED KINGIMI and ANGELA UKOMADU

A decade on, tragedy of Nigeria’s Chibok Girls endures outside the spotlight

NEWS

TEN years ago, Solomon Maina's daughter, Debora, was one of 276 schoolgirls kidnapped from their dormitory in the middle of the night by Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist militants. Global outrage was swift. A ubiquitous "Bring Back Our Girls" campaign, drawing support from the likes of Michelle Obama and Sylvester Stallone, shined a spotlight on the abductions. Then, in 2016 and 2017, negotiations led to the highly publicised liberation of around 100 of the captives. Debora was not one of them. A decade after that fateful night in April 2014, the world has largely forgotten the plight of the so-called Chibok…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Nigeria, Zambia women win playoffs to take last two Olympic spots

FOOTBALL

ZAMBIA and Nigeria locked up the last two spots in the women's soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics after winning two-legged playoffs in the fourth round of African qualifying. Zambia needed extra time to get past Morocco in Rabat as the Copper Queens turned a 2-1 first-leg deficit into a 3-2 aggregate triumph with a 2-0 win at Moulay Hassan Stadium. Captain and Orlando Pride striker Barbra Banda opened the scoring for Zambia in the 38th minute and secured the ticket to the Olympics when she converted a penalty in the 105th minute. The Zambians will be in a tough…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Nigeria recalls J&J children’s cough syrup over toxic substance

NEWS

Nigeria's health regulator is recalling a batch of Johnson & Johnson children's cough syrup after finding an unacceptably high level of a potentially fatal toxic substance, it said. Laboratory tests on Benylin Paediatric showed a high level of diethylene glycol, which has been linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since 2022 in one of the world's worst waves of poisoning from oral medication. The syrup is used to treat cough and congestion-related symptoms, hay fever and other allergic reactions in children aged two to 12, Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and…

Apr

2024

By CHIJIOKE OHUOCHA

Nigeria bars lenders from using FX-denominated collateral for naira loans

BUSINESS

NIGERIA'S central bank has barred commercial lenders from accepting foreign currency-denominated collateral to grant naira loans, a move that could protect the banking system against a strengthening of the local currency, it said on Monday. The regulator said in a circular that the practice it had observed of bank customers using foreign currency as collateral for naira loans was "prohibited". The central bank on Monday said it approved Eurobonds issued by the government or letters of credit issued by an offshore bank as eligible foreign currency collateral. It told lenders to wind down all loans currently secured with dollar-denominated collateral…

Apr

2024

By CAMILLUS EBOH

Nigeria union requests more troops to combat oil theft

NEWS

NIGERIA'S oil workers union has asked President Bola Tinubu to deploy more troops, including military chiefs, to combat oil theft and boost output to help Africa's largest economy tackle dollar shortages, an official said. Large-scale oil theft from pipelines and wells has been one of Tinubu's biggest challenges in recent years, damaging government finances and limiting the country's output and exports. Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer, relies on the commodity for more than two-thirds of its earnings and about 90% of foreign exchange income. It has struggled to raise output as theft and sabotage have forced oil majors including Shel…

Apr

2024

By ISAAC ANYAOGU

Nigeria’s ex-central bank head Emefiele faces fresh charges on Monday

NEWS

NIGERIA'S former central bank governor Godwin Emefiele will appear in a Lagos court on Monday after the country's anticorruption body on Friday filed 26 fresh charges against him alleging misuse of authority and corrupt practices. Emefiele is already facing procurement fraud charges in another court in the capital Abuja - which he has denied - after being detained in June last year by the Department of State Services. He was later transferred to the anticorruption body the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and was granted bail in November. The latest charges include receiving bribes, accepting gifts via intermediaries, engaging in corrupt practices, obtaining property…

Apr

2024

By ISAAC ANYAOGU

Nigeria’s Dangote refinery supplies petroleum products to local market

BUSINESS

NIGERIA'S Dangote oil refinery started supplying petroleum products to the local market, a company executive and fuel marketing associations said, a major step in the country's quest for energy independence. The refinery, Africa's largest, was built on a peninsula on the outskirts of the commercial capital Lagos at a cost of $20 billion by the continent's richest man Aliko Dangote and was completed after several years of delays. It can refine up to 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) and will be the largest in Africa and Europe when it reaches full capacity this or next year. Dangote's group executive, Devakumar…