Taraba State chairman of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Peter Jediel, has again been kidnapped. He was abducted at about 3.30 a.m. on Sunday at his residence in Sunkani, administrative headquarters of Ardo-Kola local government council on the outskirt of Jalingo, the state capital. It was the second time Jediel, 54, would be kidnapped this year, the first being in February when he was released two days later after an undisclosed amount was paid as ransom. Police sources said he was kidnapped in the presence of his family members. Police spokesperson in the state, David Misal, told our correspondent that he…

Around 150 children are missing after armed men attacked a school in northwest Nigeria’s Kaduna state, a parent and an administrator told Reuters on Monday. Police said gunmen shooting wildly raided the Bethel Baptist High School in southern Kaduna state overnight. “They ... overpowered the school’s security guards and made their way into the students hostel where they abducted an unspecified number of students into the forest,” a police statement said, adding 26 people including a female teacher had been rescued. John Hayab, a founder of the school, told Reuters about 25 students had managed to escape while the rest…

Nigeria is losing an average of 200,000 barrels of oil per day - more than 10% of its production - to pipeline vandalism, the country’s information minister said on Monday. Nigeria relies on oil exports for more than half its budget and 95% of foreign exchange. The cost to repair the pipelines alone is roughly 60 billion naira ($145.99 million), information minister Lai Mohammed told a town hall meeting in Abuja. “One can only imagine the impact on the economy,” Mohammed said, adding that the resulting spills also had a devastating impact on the water, air and soil quality. Typically…

Armed bandits have abducted babies, nurses and security guards from the residential quarters of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Centre (NTLC) in Zaria, Kaduna State. PRNigeria, a news agency with close ties to security agencies, reported that the bandits stormed the area from a nearby forest. They engaged police officers in a gun battle before they escaped with their victims, the agency reported. The area where the kidnap occurred, known as Saye District in the outskirts of Zaria, is close to notorious Sabon Birni, Galadima and Malu Forests where armed bandits keep their victims hostage. When contacted, Kaduna Commissioner for…