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☆ Nigeria frees on bail 69 arrested over alleged gay wedding
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Tife Owolabi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Some of the men charged with public displays of affection with members of the same sex are seen gathered outside a court in Lagos, Nigeria October 27, 2020. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsYENAGOA, Nigeria, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A court in Nigeria has released on bail 69 people who were arrested last month in connection with an alleged gay wedding, which is illegal in the country, their lawyer said on Tuesday. So, the 69 suspects have been granted bail and I am processing their paperwork," Ohimor said. State prosecutors had opposed bail but the court ruled that the suspects should be released because they were not facing a capital offence, said Ohimor. The anti-gay law in Africa's most populous nation includes a prison term of up to 14 years for those convicted, and bans gay marriage, same-sex relationships, and membership of gay rights groups.

Persons: Temilade, Ochuko Ohimor, Ohimor, Tife Owolabi, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Jon Boyle, Hugh Lawson, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Lagos, Nigeria, Africa, Warri, Africa's

☆ Nigerian court remands dozens in prison over alleged gay wedding
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Tife Owolabi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

YENAGOA, Nigeria, Sept 4 (Reuters) - More than 60 people arrested last week in Nigeria in connection with an alleged gay wedding, which is illegal in the country, have been remanded in prison, the police and their lawyer said on Monday. “The suspects have been arraigned in court today and the judge has ruled that they be remanded in prison for two weeks," Delta state police said in a statement. It did not say how many had been remanded, but police last week said 67 people had been arrested. He put the total number of those remanded at 69, adding they are facing charges connected to allegations that they were celebrating a gay wedding. The anti-gay law in Africa's most populous nation includes a prison term of up to 14 years for those convicted, and bans gay marriage, same-sex relationships, and membership of gay rights groups.

Persons: “, Ochuko Ohimor, Tife Owolabi, Elisha Bala, William Maclean Organizations: Thomson Locations: YENAGOA, Nigeria, Warri, Delta, Africa, Africa's

☆ Nigerian police raid alleged gay wedding, arrest 67 people
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Tife Owolabi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

YENAGOA, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Nigerian police raided an alleged gay wedding, which is illegal in the country, in the southern city of Warri in Delta state, and arrested 67 people, authorities said in a statement, following a tipoff from a person who knew of the event. The statement didn't say when the raid took place. In Nigeria, like in most parts of Africa, homosexuality is generally viewed as unacceptable, and a 2014 anti-gay law took effect despite international condemnation. "The policemen chased and arrested a total number of 67 suspects" for allegedly conducting and attending a same-sex wedding ceremony, Bright said. Africa's most populous nation's anti-gay law includes a prison term of up to 14 years for those convicted, and bans gay marriage, same-sex relationships, and membership of gay rights groups.

Persons: YENAGOA, Edafe Bright, Bright, Tife Owolabi, Elisha Bala, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Delta, Investigations, Thomson Locations: Warri, Delta, Nigeria, Africa

☆ Nigeria's labour unions suspend strike after meeting president
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Nigeria's main labour federation has agreed to return to talks with the government following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, union leaders said, on a day when hundreds of Nigerians marched against the removal of a petrol subsidy. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said the marches across major Nigerian cities were successful enough to force Tinubu to meet union leaders and vow to expedite an agreement on a new minimum wage among other promises. [1/2]Members of the Nigerian Labour Union, holding flags and placards, march during a protest against fuel price hikes and rising costs, in Abuja, Nigeria August 2, 2023. REUTERS/Abraham AchirgaLed by union leaders, protesters carrying placards marched in Lagos, the oil-producing state of Bayelsa and in the northern cities of Kano and Kaduna. In the capital Abuja, marchers broke down a gate to the National Assembly, expecting to be addressed by the Senate president, witnesses said.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Tinubu's, Dele Alake, Abraham Achirga Led, Elisha Bala, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Tife, Hamza Ibrahim, Garba Muhammad, Tomasz Janowski, Giles Elgood, Sandra Maler Organizations: Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigerian Labour Union, REUTERS, NLC, National Assembly, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Abuja, Lagos, Bayelsa, Kano, Kaduna, Gbogbo, Yenagoa

☆ Nigeria's Tinubu has unassailable lead in provisional election results - Reuters tally
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LAGOS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Nigeria's ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu has an unassailable lead in the presidential election held over the weekend, a Reuters tally of provisional results from all 36 states and the federal capital Abuja showed on Tuesday. Tinubu of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) of outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari got about 35% of the vote, trailed by Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) with 30%. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, an outsider popular with the youth and educated voters, got 26%. Tinubu's potential victory extends the All Progressives Congress party's (APC) grip on power in Africa's top oil producer and most populous nation, though he inherits a litany of problems from outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari. Reporting by Hamza Ibrahim in Kano, Ahmed Kingimi in Maiduguri, Anamesere Igboeroteonwu in Onitsha Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa, Tim Cocks and Macdonald Dzirutwe in Lagos; Writing by Tim CocksOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nigerians wait to finish voting in some places as election count underway
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Tife Owolabi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People wait for results during the counting process of Nigeria's presidential election, at a polling unit in Awka, Anambra state, Nigeria February 25, 2023. A Reuters reporter saw voters arriving at polling stations in Yenagoa city, which will open at 10 a.m. (0900 GMT) so electoral commission officials can complete Saturday's presidential and parliamentary election. Voting was also expected to continue in some parts northeastern Borno state, where voting machines failed to work. He is stepping down after winning two previous elections and serving the maximum eight years permitted by the constitution. Whoever wins will face a litany of crises in the country of more than 200 million, Africa's most populous nation.

☆ Nigerians vote for new president, delays seen at some polling stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Anamasere Igboereteonwu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/8] People looks for their names on voters list put up on a wall at a polling unit, during Nigeria's Presidential election in Agulu, Anambra state, Nigeria February 25, 2023. Polling stations were scheduled to open at 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), though Reuters reporters at locations across the country saw a mixed picture, with delays of several hours in some places while voting got underway more swiftly at others. In the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the vice presidential candidate from the ruling party, Kashim Shettima, arrived to cast his ballot but was unable to do so as his designated polling station had not opened. In another northeastern city, Yola, opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar was able to vote, surrounded by a chaotic scrum of media and supporters. Vote-counting will begin as soon as polls close and results will be posted outside polling stations, according to the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).

☆ Gunmen kidnap 32 people from southern Nigeria train station
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Tife Owolabi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

YENAGOA, NIGERIA, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles have abducted more than 30 people from a train station in Nigeria's southern Edo state, the governor's office said on Sunday. Police said in a statement that armed herdsmen had attacked Tom Ikimi station at 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) as passengers awaited a train to Warri, an oil hub in nearby Delta state. The station is some 111 km northeast of state capital Benin City and close to the border with Anambra state. Edo state information commissioner Chris Osa Nehikhare said the kidnappers had taken 32 people, though one had already escaped. The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) had closed the station until further notice and the federal transportation ministry called the kidnappings "utterly barbaric".

An oil slick is seen on Santa Barbara creek, following an oil spill in Nembe, Bayelsa, Nigeria, November 25, 2021. "Hundreds of thousands of people (in Benin) organize their survival around this traffic," Boris Houenou, a Beninois economist said of the smuggling of Nigerian gasoline. NNPC recorded gasoline deliveries of 90 million litres a day in March and 83 million in April, Reuters calculations showed. 'CURIOUS CASE'Although the Nigerian government announced plans to remove the gasoline subsidy last year, it then backtracked in July, citing concerns over potential social unrest. And although gasoline is subsidised, the amount ordinary Nigerians pay at the pump remains higher than the set price.

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