Lagos - The former head of Nigeria's anti-corruption watchdog has been facing death threats and should be given protection from the government, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday.

Nuhu Ribadu was removed from his position as the head of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2007 shortly after the commission indicted a politician close to Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua.

Ribadu told the New York-based HRW that he had received telephone death threats and had shots fired at him in late September.

Nairobi/Abuja  - Hospitals in Nigeria were Monday failing to cope with the number of casualties following weekend clashes between Christians and Muslims in the city of Jos, the capital of central Plateau State, reports said Monday.

Doctors were not able to keep up with hundreds of victims of gunshots and stab wounds, while severe shortages of medicines and dressing materials were also causing problems, a spokesman of the aid organization Oxfam told the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Abuja  - After scores of people were killed in riots following local elections, Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua Friday ordered the Nigerian military to take charge in Jos, the capital city of central Nigeria's Plateau State.

Olusegun Adeniyi, special advisor to the president, said Yar'Adua had met with the relevant security chiefs, where he gave the order. He had also been briefed by Plateau governor Jonah Jang.

Zurich- The global television rights sale for the 2010 football World Cup has been completed ahead of schedule with a deal in Nigeria, the governing body FIFA said on Wednesday.

FIFA said in a statement that a contract with the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) will ensure free-to-air TV coverage and radio broadcasts of all 64 World Cup games in South Africa.

World Cup organizing committee chief Danny Jordaan welcomed the announcement as "another major milestone" which was completed "well ahead of schedule.

Abuja - Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited on Wednesday denied allegations that Africa's first communication satellite was missing in orbit.

Ahmed Rufai, Managing Director of the company, a public-private partnership, said that the satellite was powered down after technical problems were identified on Sunday night.

"We, in collaboration with our Chinese counterparts, identified some problems on Sunday and had to switch off the satellite to enable us to carry out fault analysis of the situation," he said, adding that the satellite was fully insured.

Kano, Nigeria - German President Horst Koehler began winding up a six-day visit to Nigeria on Wednesday, travelling to the Muslim north for a colourful reception by the emir of the state of Kano.

Koehler, whose visit was devoted both to German-African affairs and to bilateral ties between Germany and Nigeria, was treated to a durbar, a colourful display of traditional military horsemanship which is normally held only twice a year, for the Muslim festivals of Eid-el Fitr and Eid-el Kabir.