Exactly how much of Nigeria’s $510bn GDP megachurches make up is difficult to assess, since they are, like the oil sector, largely opaque entities.
The jihadist group said it has taken the town of Gwoza in the north by force and that it intends to govern the whole of Nigeria under Islamic law.
While Nigeria’s army says it knows where the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram are being held, they cannot use force to rescue them.
Demonstrators outside Nigeria’s Parliament have urged the government to seek international assistance to find schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram.
Nearly 1 000 people, mostly suspected Islamist militants, have died in Nigerian prisons in 2013 alone, says Amnesty International.
An art investment boom is under way in Nigeria as local and foreign collectors flock to buy traditional work.
A landmark UN report last year slammed multinational oil companies for 50 years of oil pollution, but a year later, nothing has improved.
Nigeria does look like it’s teetering on the cusp of chaos, but it is also Africa’s second biggest economy and top oil producer.
It is still not clear who was responsible for a Nigerian suicide bombing which has killed 12 people in the latest deadly attack on Christians.
Nigeria’s plans to rebase its GDP calculations and push its economy up 40% will add fuel to its contest with SA to be Africa’s undisputed leader.