Basic information* Capital: Abuja
Population: 140-150 million (UN, 2005)
Area: 923,768 sq km (356,669 sq miles)
Major religions: Christianity, Islam, indigenous beliefs
Major languages: English (official), Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa
Life expectancy: 43 years (men), 43 years (women) (UN)
President: Olusegun Obasanjo
Human Development Index: 158/177 |
From BBC Online: 
"After lurching from one military coup to another, Nigeria now has an elected leadership. But it faces the growing challenge of preventing Africa's most populous country from breaking apart along ethnic and religious lines. Political liberalisation ushered in by the return to civilian rule in 1999 has allowed militants from religious and ethnic groups to express their frustrations more freely, and with increasing violence. Thousands of people have died over the past few years in communal rivalry. Separatist aspirations have been growing, prompting reminders of the bitter civil war over the breakaway Biafran republic in the late 1960s.
The imposition of Islamic law in several states has embedded divisions and caused thousands of Christians to flee. Inter-faith violence is said to be rooted in poverty, unemployment and the competition for land."
BBC, August 2006
Refugees**
- Refugees and asylum seekers: 36,137
- Number of internally displaced persons: unknown
- Total: 36,137
- Number of asylum applications to the UK (June 05 - June 06): 975
Current situation
From Human Rights Watch:“Nigeria’s most serious human rights problems remain unresolved. The government has largely failed to tackle the impunity that often attaches to serious human rights abuses, particularly abuses committed by the security forces and government officials. No one has yet been brought to justice for the massacre of hundreds of people by the military in Odi, Bayelsa state, in 1999, and in Benue state, in 2001, and members of the Nigerian police force are very rarely held accountable for widespread abuses including torture and murder.
While the federal government has made some efforts to tackle corruption, it remains a pervasive problem even as the vast majority of Nigerians continue to live in extreme poverty. Widespread corruption leads directly to violations of social and economic rights and exacerbates other causes of violence and intercommunal tension.
In recent years, Nigeria has repeatedly been shaken by devastating outbreaks of intercommunal violence that are often fueled by government mismanagement and political manipulation. Many unresolved tensions are likely to be made even more explosive by intense political competition surrounding landmark presidential primaries in 2006 and general elections in 2007. Concerns exist that many politicians may resort to the same violent tactics in the upcoming elections that undermined the legitimacy of the last nationwide polls in 2003.”
Human Rights Watch, September 2006
From Amnesty International: "Amnesty International, the Nigerian Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) and Access to Justice are alarmed at reports indicating that 12 suspected "armed robbers" who were held in police custody in the Abia State police headquarters may have been extrajudicially executed by the police in Abia State on 10 or 11 August.
The above organizations understand that the 12 victims were arrested in the raid in which four other suspects were killed earlier in the week. The 12 victims, including a 13-year old boy, were brought out into the grounds of the Abia State police headquarters by police around 9am on Thursday morning and made to sit on the ground in full view of journalists and other spectators. An eyewitness told Amnesty International that some of the suspects were displaying gun shot wounds."
Amnesty International, August 2006
* This information is taken from the BBC's country profiles
**These numbers were taken from UNHCR figures published June 2nd 2006 and Home Office figures June 2005 - June 2006
