Bay Ledger News Zonebill@blnz.comtag:www.blnz.com,2009:regions/niger_deltatag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/03/07/Nigerian_leader_rebuffs_amnesty_calls_1bf8

Nigeria's president, visiting the region at the heart of an Islamist insurgency for the first time since he was elected in 2011, on Thursday rebuffed calls for an amnesty deal for the extremists.

2013-03-07T22:24:51ZAFP Global Editionby by Timothy Kolajotag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/03/05/Shell_warns_Nigerian_output_after_e8e4

Oil giant Shell on Tuesday warned it may not meet production targets on Bonny Light crude in Nigeria after it shut down a key pipeline that has been repeatedly hit by sabotage and theft.

2013-03-05T19:48:37ZAFP Global EditionBy Staff Reportertag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/03/04/Shell_decries_unprecedented_theft_Nigeria_f689

Oil giant Shell on Monday raised alarm over "unprecedented" oil theft in Nigeria, particularly related to the sabotage of one of its key pipelines, and called for urgent action to address the problem.

2013-03-04T15:12:33ZAFP Global EditionBy Staff Reportertag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/02/26/foreigners_kidnapped_Nigeria_free_police_9be0

Six foreigners kidnapped on February 17 by armed pirates from an oil service ship off Nigeria have been released unhurt without a ransom being paid, police said on Tuesday.

2013-02-26T17:41:33ZAFP Global Editionby Aderogba Obisesantag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/02/20/Pirates_kidnap_foreigners_Nigeria_5982

Armed pirates who stormed an oil service ship off Nigeria have kidnapped six foreigners and demanded a $1.3 million ransom for their release, the police and military told AFP Wednesday.

2013-02-20T20:11:52ZAFP Global Editionby Joel Olatunde Agoitag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/02/19/Nigeria_wants_worlds_help_slow_405a

Nigeria has appealed to foreign governments to help crack down on crude oil theft, the oil minister said Tuesday of the illicit industry that robs Africa's biggest oil producer of some $6 billion per year.

2013-02-19T16:21:01ZAFP Global Editionby M.J. Smithtag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/02/17/Heat_Nigerias_petroleum_industry_execs_07a1

Major oil industry executives gather in Nigeria's capital for an annual conference this week with Africa's largest crude producer under pressure over reports alleging large-scale corruption and mismanagement.

2013-02-17T23:18:28ZAFP Global Editionby M.J. Smithtag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/02/08/Three_foreign_sailors_kidnapped_Nigeria_e9ce

Pirates have attacked a British-flagged cargo ship off Nigeria and kidnapped one Romanian and two Russian crew members in the latest such incident to hit the region, a statement said Friday.

2013-02-08T22:36:01ZAFP Global EditionBy Staff Reportertag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/02/04/Nigeria_fails_probe_scores_police_bd77

Nigeria has largely failed to investigate hundreds of killings by police and relatives of the victims are often left without explanations, Amnesty International said in a report released Tuesday.

2013-02-05T00:11:40ZAFP Global EditionBy Staff Reportertag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/02/02/Nigerian_government_welcomes_Islamist_ceasefire_c35d

Nigerian Vice President Namadi Sambo said Saturday that his government is ready to consider a ceasefire offer by the extremist Islamist group Boko Haram.

2013-02-02T21:50:37ZAFP Global EditionBy Staff Reportertag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/01/30/Dutch_court_rejects_bulk_Nigerian_27d2

A Dutch court on Wednesday rejected a bid by Nigerian farmers to hold Shell's parent company responsible for oil damage to their villages, saying that only the Anglo-Dutch oil giant's Nigerian subsidiary was partly responsible.

2013-01-30T17:31:24ZAFP Global Editionby by Jan HENNOPtag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/01/30/Dutch_court_rejects_Nigerians_suit_1b94

A Dutch court on Wednesday rejected a bid by Nigerian farmers to hold Shell responsible for oil damage to their villages, in a case that environmental groups had hoped would set a precedent for global corporate responsibility.

2013-01-30T11:12:26ZAFP Global EditionBy Staff Reportertag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/01/30/Dutch_court_rules_Nigerian_farmers_a7e2

A Dutch court will decide on Wednesday whether Shell should clean up oil damage that destroyed a group of Nigerian farmers' land, a case that could set a precedent for global environmental responsibility.

2013-01-30T05:16:59ZAFP Global EditionBy Staff Reportertag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/01/29/Boko_Haram_ceasefire_claim_spurs_5161

A ceasefire declaration from a man claiming to represent Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram spurred intense debate on Tuesday over whether he was a fraud or capable of helping to bring peace.

2013-01-29T23:11:37ZAFP Global Editionby M.J. Smithtag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/01/28/Nigerian_extremists_issue_threats_against_0b70

Nigerian extremists have issued direct threats to France in retaliation for military action in Mali, the French consulate here said Monday, while warning its citizens against travel to northern Nigeria.

2013-01-28T18:23:24ZAFP Global Editionby Cecile de Comarmondtag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/01/26/Kidnappers_release_Indians_taken_Nigeria_712e

The five Indian crew members of an oil tanker who were kidnapped last month after heavily armed pirates stormed their vessel off Nigeria's coast have been released, their employer said Saturday.

2013-01-26T15:33:13ZAFP Global EditionBy Staff Reportertag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/01/26/Five_Indians_kidnapped_Nigeria_last_fdb9

The five Indian crew members of an oil tanker who were kidnapped last month after heavily armed pirates stormed their vessel off Nigeria's coast have been released, their employer said Saturday.

2013-01-26T13:05:23ZAFP Global EditionBy Staff Reportertag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/01/25/Nigeria_sentences_independence_bomb_suspect_9813

A Nigerian court on Friday sentenced to life in prison a man convicted in connection with the twin bombings in the capital Abuja near independence day commemorations in 2010 that killed 12 people.

2013-01-25T18:12:37ZAFP Global EditionBy Staff Reportertag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/01/21/SAfrica_court_convicts_Nigerian_terrorism_8700

A South African court on Monday convicted Nigerian national Henry Okah of 13 terrorism charges, including twin bombings that killed 12 people in the Nigerian capital Abuja on the country's independence day in 2010.

2013-01-21T14:04:24ZAFP Global Editionby by Susan Njanjitag:www.blnz.com,2009:2013/01/09/Pirates_free_Italian_sailors_kidnapped_4eec

Pirates have freed three Italian sailors they abducted from a ship off Nigeria last month, the foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

2013-01-09T15:43:06ZAFP Global EditionBy Staff Reporter