Nigeria Blast Kills Dozens as Militants Hit Capital

LAGOS, Nigeria — Militants struck near the heart of the Nigerian state early Monday, bombing a bus station in the capital, Abuja, just miles from the seat of government in one of the worst attacks in years in the country’s struggle with insurgents.

Working for China on Nigerian infrastructure

Chinese companies are implementing huge infrastructure projects in Nigeria. But like the colonialists before them, they are engaged in serious labour violations apparently with impunity. How does this ‘south-south cooperation’ benefit the Nigerian worker?

By Theophilus Abbah, published on 2014-04-10 by Pambazuka News, Issue 673

A difficult fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria

Boko Haram has proved resilient despite government’s crackdown on the deadly islamist group in the northern parts of Nigeria. But as that country’s government seeks to deal with the terrorism quagmire posed by the group, with their source of funding and logistics support coming under scrutiny, Boko Haram’s demands point to a long battle ahead.

By Theophilus Abbah, 27 Sep 2013, The Africa Report

Nigeria: Fertile Grounds

The deafening explosion shook our office, and our walls and ceiling trembled. Looking out of a now precariously loose window, I saw smoke oozing out of a high-rise building, located about two hundred metres away. The ‘This Day’ newspaper office had caught fire.

By Theophilus Abbah, ZAM Chronicle, 25 June 2013

Is Africa’s investigative journalism on its deathbed?

It is no secret that governments and the media generally do not like each other. Not that they need to – many argue this antagonism is healthy and that the real problem would be if they actually took to each other.

By Lee Mwiti, The Monitor (Uganda) 5 May 2013

Investigating the ‘War on Terror’ programme in Africa‏

CALL FOR STORY PROPOSALS: The ‘War on Terror’ (WoT) programme purports to sniff out, hunt and neutralise perpetrators of armed non-governmental attacks in countries such as Nigeria, Mali, Kenya and Somalia. Among  known movements who have claimed responsibility for such attacks are Boko Haram in Nigeria, AQIM and Salafists in Mali, and Al Shabaab in Kenya and Somalia.

Nigeria Lost U.S.$1 Billion to Pipeline Shutdown in Seven Days

Nigeria has lost an estimated $1billion (N156 billion) revenue in seven days as a result of the shutdown of 140,000 barrels of oil per day Nembe Creek pipeline, the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has said.

By Theophilus Abbah, Hamisu Muhammad and Isiaka Wakili, 12 March 2013, Daily Trust

Transnational Investigation: The FAIRTRADE Chocolate Rip-off

In a six-month transnational project led by the Forum for African Investigative Reporters (FAIR), journalists hailing from Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria and the Netherlands investigated the alleged benefits received by cocoa farmers in West Africa via the FAIRTRADE label.

The price of free information in Nigeria

“Despite encouraging signs, access to information is still difficult”  

Idris Akinbajo is a 30 year-old Nigerian journalist. On the sidelines of a talk in Holland he was giving on the powers of investigative journalism, he took a moment to discuss press freedom in one of Africa’s most dangerous reporting environments with the Doha Centre for Media Freedom.