Boko Haram Kidnappings: Can Nigerian schoolgirls be protected?

Nigerian army has announced that around 6000 extremists have defected in recent weeks, AP is reporting an increasing number of allegations of atrocities against Tigrayan forces, and we meet the Chadian artist turning bullets into brushstrokes.

Seventy-five children who were kidnapped from their school in Nigeria's northwestern state of Zamfara were freed after their abductors came under pressure from a military crackdown, a state official said on Sunday (September 12). Gunmen took the students from the village of Kaya on Sept. 1, the latest in a spate of mass kidnappings from schools across the region. More than 1,100 children have been abducted since December last year. Authorities say heavily armed gangs of bandits, seeking ransom payments, are behind the abductions.

Officials in Nigeria have said the students were freed with the help of several of their captors who had been pressured by a military crackdown to work with authorities.

For the past decade, residents of Cameroon's Far North region have been living in fear of attacks by Boko Haram. The Islamist terror group targets the military but also civilians. It is active in a large zone that also covers north-eastern Nigeria and the Lake Chad basin. In the past 10 years, more than 7,000 people have been killed in Cameroon. In a bid to counter this violence, the country's authorities are reaching out to those jihadists who agree to lay down their weapons. Our correspondents report from a rehabilitation centre.

Nigerian security forces have arrested three men accused of taking part in a mass abduction on Bethel Baptist High School in July. Gunmen kidnapped 121 students who were asleep in their dorm rooms. The attack took place just outside the city of Kaduna in the north-west of the country. One hundred teens have since managed to escape or were freed, but twenty-one are still unaccounted for.

The fundamentalist group, which now rules Afghanistan, put the bodies on display to deter others. The move comes after a Taliban founder said executions and amputations will return.

Gunmen have killed dozens of people in two separate attacks in Nigeria. Villagers in Kaduna and security forces in Sokoto state have fallen victim to suspected islamists and criminal gangs. Also on the show: In an industry dominated by men, we bring you a report on the women workers changing the landscape of the Central African Republic. Finally, we take a look at one of Libya's cultural jewels: Leptis Magna. An archeological site shunned by tourists due to the country's insecurity.

Heavily armed gangs have been stepping up raids on schools and villages in northwestern Nigeria, often taking hostages for ransom.

One year after #EndSARS protests rocked Nigeria, police have warned against a repeat to mark the anniversary. The largest protest in Nigeria's history ended after the army reportedly killed at least 12 demonstrators.

Nigerian protesters Legend, Solomon and Samuel were all injured on the night of October 20, 2020 - a night they "can never forget" - when the Nigerian army used live ammunition to disperse a peaceful demonstration at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos. Between anger, deception, and hope, the 'Soro Soke' ('Speak Up' in Yoruba) demonstrators still want their voices to be heard a year later.

Villagers count the dead after gunmen from a suspected criminal gang attacked the village market in Goronyo in northwest Nigeria's Sokoto state, killing 43 people.

A year ago, Akinwunmi hoisted a pole bearing the Nigerian and ENDSARS flags above his head to draw attention to the protest movement against police brutality in Lagos. Now known by thousands as Flagboii, Akinwunmi keeps waving his flag to "fight for a good country."