On Tuesday, June 9, a disturbing incident left many locals mourning in the rural areas of Zamfara State, in northwestern Nigeria. An improvised explosive device (IED) detonated along the Anka-Bagega road. When the news reached Sadiq Sulaiman, he anxiously waited for hours to learn the fate of his brother, Yusuf Sulaiman, who had travelled by …
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With ₦2.759 million standing between Pious Umokoro* and graduation, his dream of building a better life for himself hangs in the balance. The chance to attend a private university felt like a blessing, but four years of relentless effort, sleepless nights, and hope are at risk if he cannot secure the funds. Given his family’s …
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“Officer, abeg! I go tell you everything. Na my friend na him deceive me. E de Sapele, I go carry you go the place. I no know anything concern. Officer!” These were the last words of 28-year-old Oghenemine Ogidi before he was shot at close range by Usman Nuhu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), …
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Jadon John keeps a diary in which he records reference numbers for government-mandated registrations. Based in Jimeta, a commercial district in Adamawa State, northeastern Nigeria, one page of Jadon’s diary contains his voter registration details and another lists his Bank Verification Number (BVN). The 34-year-old has also noted down his National Identification Number (NIN), records …
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“Life was good back then. We had everything in abundance.” When Jummai Usman says this, she is anchoring herself to a version of Geriyo, a community in Yola, Adamawa State, in northeastern Nigeria, that younger generations in the area may never know. Born and raised on the shores of Lake Geriyo, she considers this place …
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Khadeejat Mohammed was only two years old when Mokwa’s gully erosion claimed her life in the Eti-Sheshi community of Niger State, North Central Nigeria. Bright, playful, and already piecing sentences together, she had just been registered for creche. “She was very smart,” Isa Sheshi, her grandfather, told HumAngle. “Even at two, she played around and …
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In December last year, Talle Bello* received his appointment letter to join Nigeria’s Federal Fire Service. Like many others, he saw it as a turning point, a chance to finally support his family with stability and contribute meaningfully to his country. But nearly ten months later, he has not received a single salary payment. Talle …
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The Namnai River has become a graveyard. Where an old bridge once carried farmers, traders, and travellers across with ease, fragile boats now wobble under desperate crowds. Each crossing is a risk, and for three members of Badaru Badawi’s family, that risk ended in death. That evening on July 25, Bara’atu Bala, Yusuf Badawi, a …
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In December 2014, an incumbent president lost a re-election bid for the first time in Nigeria’s history. It was a time characterised by widespread anguish and anger at how insecure the Nigerian life had become. Boko Haram, the extremist insurgent group fighting to establish what it calls an Islamic State, had intensified its violence, killing …
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After Zahra Usman* quit a job she described as toxic in a law firm that overworked and underpaid her, affecting her mental health, she found herself searching for a job for over a year. She applied for every opportunity she was qualified for, and that was how she came across one that promised a role …
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In many towns and cities across northern Nigeria, the voices once carried on the airwaves to inform, empower, and provoke reflection have dimmed to whispers of praise songs, sponsored jingles, and obsequious commentary. Behind the studio microphones and soundproof booths, journalists, mostly young men and women, say they work under suffocating conditions that leave them …
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Every weekday, 38-year-old Fatima Musa grips her son’s hand as they step onto a makeshift bridge in Fori, a community in Jere Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. Together, they cross the poorly constructed structure to reach the primary school he attends, and later make the same journey home. The original Fori …
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