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Here are the top 5 stories that drove conversation today:

Nigeria is officially out of recession, as the nation’s GDP grew by 0.55 percent for Q2 2017, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The Nigerian Gross Domestic Product report published by the NBS on Monday showed that the economy recorded a positive growth after five consecutive quarters of contractions since Q1 2016.

The oil sector was estimated to have averaged at 1.84 million barrels per day, which is 0.15 million barrels higher than the daily average production recorded in the first quarter of June. See the full breakdown of the report for each sector here.

Reacting to the development, the Senate said they “are delighted that government’s response to the economic recession has begun to yield tangible results.” However, the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not impressed, saying the “statistics is different from reality.”

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President Muhammadu Buhari met with the President of Niger Republic, Muhammadou Issoufou, in Daura, Katsina. However, the purpose of the meeting is yet to be disclosed.

The Nigerien president was received by Katsina state Governor Aminu Masari, Secretary to State government Mustapha Inuwa, Chief Of Staff government House Bello Mandiya among others.

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About 223 people have been killed by Boko Haram terrorists in North-east Nigeria since April, a new report by Amnesty International claims.

According to the report, most of the attacks occurred in Borno, the majority being suicide attacks carried out by women and girls forced into the act.

The terrorist attacks have also been on the rise in Cameroon, with at least 158 people killed also within the last five months. Read full report: http://bit.ly/2x8371X

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On Benue flooding, Ghanaian actress,  Juliet Ibrahim, donated one million naira to the people displaced by the flood.

She wrote on Instagram, announcing her donation, “I’ve once lived as a refugee, and I know what it means to work for something, and lose it all in the blink of an eye. Hence my decision today, to donate.

“I am also using this opportunity to challenge my fellow colleagues, friends, and fans to join in. Let’s help out by donating to this cause. #MakurdiFloodReliefChallenge,” she added, urging other celebrities to donate.

Meanwhile, Pop icon, 2face Idibia, who hails from Benue, and his wife Annie visited an IDP camp in the state and donated some relief materials to victims of the flooding today.

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In the United States, Donald Trump’s administration has officially pulled the plug on the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy put in place by the Obama administration to protect about 800,000 ‘Dreamers’ – undocumented immigrants brought into the U.S. as children – from deportation.

The controversial decision has been widely criticised and, according to Vox, is “the most aggressive move of [Trump’s] immigration crackdown so far.”

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions released a statement clarifying the decision. He said, “This does not mean they [the Dreamers] are bad people or that our nation disrespects or demeans them in any way. It means we are properly enforcing our laws as Congress has passed them.”

Read the full statement: http://bit.ly/2wD4FzH

Editor