The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Nigeria.
Incumbents Federal government President: Goodluck Jonathan (PDP) Vice President: Namadi Sambo (PDP) Senate President: David Mark (PDP) House Speaker: Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (PDP) Chief Justice: Aloma Mariam Mukhtar
Governors
Rivers State: Chibuike Amaechi (PDP)
Events
January 1 January - Nigeria's army kill 13 members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram and lose one soldier in a gun battle in Maiduguri. 4 January - The Nigerian police announces that Hyundai has paid a ransom of £118,000 ($190,000) to free 6 kidnapped workers in the Niger Delta region. 9 January - Government troops clashed with MEND militants in the state of Ogun, resulting in the deaths of 40 civilians, seven militants, and three government soldiers. 19 January - A military convoy of buses carrying Nigerian troops to be deployed to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) forces in Mali were bombed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) placed in the road near Lokoja in Kogi state. Seven soldiers were killed and dozens were wounded in the attack. 19 January - The Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero who was also a vocal critic of the terrorist group Boko Haram and strongly opposed their campaign against western education survived an attack led by armed men on motorcycles. At that time he was inside a motorcade, four people were killed, including the Emir's driver who tried to protect him and two bodyguards and several more were wounded. 21 January - A South African court convicted Henry Okah of 13 charges of terrorism, including bombings that killed 12 people in Abuja over October 2010 Abuja bombings. 23 January - Gunmen from the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram open fire at a market in Damboa, killing 18 people. Five people were also killed in Maiduguri by members of the Islamist sect Boko Haram. 30 January - A Dutch court rules that Royal Dutch Shell can be held "partially" responsible for pollution in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria.
February 1 February - The Nigerian Army suspected terrorist camp used by Boko Haram resulting in the deaths of 17 militants and one government soldier and capturing large amounts ammunition, guns and weapons. 5 February - MEND militants attacked an oil barge in the Niger Delta resulting in the deaths of four foreign oil workers. 6 February - The All Progressives Congress (APC) was founded from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties - the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the new PDP - a faction of then ruling People's Democratic Party. 8 February - Nine women and one man are shot to death in Kano. According to reports, all of them were involved in a polio vaccination policy and were most probably killed by the Islamist movement Boko Haram, which has previously threatened to target those involved in vaccinations. 10 February - Nigeria wins the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations after defeating Burkina Faso 1–0 in South Africa winning the Africa Cup of Nations for the third time. 10 February - Suspected Boko Haram militants kill three doctors in the northeastern Nigerian region of Yobe. Their nationality is disputed, with reports suggesting they are South Korean, North Korean or Chinese. 17 February - Six foreign workers, which includes one Italian, one Greek and two Lebanese, are kidnapped in a construction site belonging to Lebanese company Setraco and one security guard is killed. 17 February - Two BH gunmen and two civilians are killed in a shootout between gunmen and soldiers at a checkpoint in Nigeria's northern city of Kano. A first contingent of 80 Nigerian troops departs for Mali as part of a UN-mandated African force to help the country battle Islamists who are believed to have forged a close alliance with BH. 19 February - Seven French tourists were kidnapped by gunmen near Waza National Park in Northern Cameroon, near the border with Nigeria. President of France François Hollande states that the Islamist group Boko Haram may be responsible. 23 February - The Lagos State Government forcibly evicted approximately 9,000 residents of the Badia East slum. 24 February - The People's Democratic Party (PDP) set up its own Governors' Forum to counter the growing influence of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, which had become critical of President Jonathan. 24 February - At least six people die in an attack in Ngalda, Yobe State. 26 February - Gunmen kill seven guards guarding a marketplace in Yobe State. 26 February - Nigerian troops kill a suspected BH commander and three of his lieutenants during an operation in Maiduguri. France's defence minister rules out talks with the abductors of a French family seized in Cameroon, after a video of the hostages appears on YouTube. 28 February - Three people, including a soldier, are injured in multiple blasts in three areas of Maiduguri, with one targeting a military patrol vehicle. Gunmen storm a residence housing foreign workers in Tella Village, in central Taraba State, killing two police guards in a failed kidnapping.
March 3 March - Government troops killed 20 Boko Haram militants in the village of Monguno in the state of Borno. 5 March - Gunmen killed 8 people in an attack on a police station and a bank in northeastern Nigeria. 10 March - Nigerian militants belonging to Ansaru claimed the responsibility to kidnapping and killing Italian, Greek, and British construction workers in Northern Nigeria. 12 March - Men on motorbikes storm a primary school and open fire wounding four teachers. 15 March - Gunmen kill a senior judicial official in northern Nigeria's largest city, Kano. 16 March - Gunmen raid a prison in Gwoza, in northeastern Borno State, freeing 170 inmates and killing a civilian. 18 March - Boko Haram militants killed at least 22 individuals in a suicide car bombing of a bus station in Kano. 21 March - At least 45 people drown and 60 are missing after a boat carrying Nigerian migrants capsizes and sinks off shore from Libreville, Gabon. 22 March - 25 people were killed in northeastern Adamawa State when attackers blast a jail, a police station and a bank with bombs, machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Some 127 prison inmates escape during an attack on the jailhouse in Ganye town. 26 March - A court in South Africa sentences Nigerian militant Henry Okah to 24 years' imprisonment for his involvement in the October 2010 Abuja bombings which killed at least 12 people. 31 March - The Nigerian Army kills 14 suspected Boko Haram members in a raid on a building, with the death of one soldier and the capture of a potential suicide bomber in a car full of explosives in the northern city of Kano.
April
6 April - MEND militants killed twelve government policemen in the state of Bayelsa. 11 April - Four policemen and five Boko Haram gunmen are killed in a shootout during an attack on a police station in Babban Gida Village of Yobe State. 16 April - A clash between Boko Haram and Nigerian soldiers in the town of Baga led 187 people killed and more than 2,000 homes were destroyed concluding a massacre. The Nigerian military was accused of excessive force, but it claimed that Boko Haram fighters used civilians as human shields. 18 April - Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. 20 April - Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare has posted the fifth best women's 200m time of 22.31 in 2013 (wind +1.3m/sec) at the Mount SAC Relays on Saturday in Los Angeles, California. 24 April - The Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives called for investigations into the Baga massacre and human rights violations by security forces. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned the violence.
May
3 May - A former Nigerian oil minister, Ali Monguno, was kidnapped by gunmen who storm his vehicle outside a mosque in the restive city of Maiduguri. 7 May - Boko Haram launched coordinated attacks in a prison located in the northeastern town of Bama against security formations, killing 55 people and freeing 105 inmates. 14 May - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in northeastern Nigeria due to escalating Boko Haram insurgency. 15 May - Nigerian troops launched "Operation Restore Order" in the northeast. Communication networks were cut off in several areas. Reports emerged of human rights violations by the military, including mass arrests and destruction of villages. 16 May - Nigeria's military announced a "massive" troops deployment and military hardware to its restive northeast, after the president declared a state of emergency in areas where Islamist insurgents have seized territory. Phone signals were shut down in Borno and Yobe states. 18 May - The Nigerian Military announced it had destroyed several Boko Haram camps and killed or arrested dozens of surgents. Journalists and human rights groups were restricted from entering conflict zones. 20 May - 120 militant Islamists have been arrested in Maiduguri, as they were organising the burial of a commander, an army spokesman has said. 20 May - 33,163 students in some regions were without access to schooling or forced to relocate to host communities to pursue their studies. 20 May – 30 June - 20,000 to 30,000 civilians were forced to flee their homes due to gun battles, aerial bombardments, and the fear of being caught in crossfire.
June
1 June - Forbes rates Aliko Dangote as "Africa's First $20 Billion Man". 11 June - BH gunmen disguised as mourners kill 15 residents of the Hausari area of Maiduguri in a fake funeral, a reprisal for the arrest of a sect member the previous day. The attack prompts the spontaneous formation youth vigilante groups fighting BH, forcing the insurgents to flee. 12 June - Nigerians marked the 20th anniversary of the 12 June 1993 presidential election, widely regarded as the freest and fairest election in Nigeria's history, won by Chief Moshood Abiola but annulled by the military. Prominent figures like Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka called for 12 June to be recognized as Democracy Day instead of 29 May. 13 June - NANS Senate President, Donald Onukaogu, and a 4 others officials died in an auto crash on their way to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. 16 June - Boko Haram Militants attacked the Government Secondary School in Damaturu, killing at least 13 students and teachers. Dormitories were set on fire, and survivors reported being shot at while fleeing. 17 June - Nigeria's national football team beat Tahiti 6–1. 19 June - Suspected Boko Haram gunmen stormed a school, killing 9 students and teachers in Maiduguri. The attackers opened fire during an examination session, the second targeted attack on students in recent days and part of the group's wider campaign against western education. 19 June - The Minister of Communication Technology, Omobola Johnson, said that the Federal Government would launch its Fibre-optic Research and Education Network, connecting 27 universities to the Internet by July. 30 June - Nigerian rapper, Ice Prince Zamani on Sunday bagged BET’s Best International Act: Africa award at the ceremony which took place in Los Angeles. 30 June - About 175 inmates have reportedly escaped from Akure Olokuta Prison in Ondo State, following a jail break which occurred this morning.
July
1 July - Mosunmola ‘Mo’ Abudu launched, on DStv, EbonyLife TV, Africa's first Global Black Multi-Broadcast Entertainment Network that has aired in many African countries, the UK and the Caribbean with programmes showcasing Nigeria's burgeoning middle class. 1 July - The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) began a nationwide strike which lasted 5 months and 15 days until December 2013.