Strife-Torn Nigeria Is an Investment Magnet

Nigerian troops wield AK-47s at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja in the capital, while security guards scan for car bombs at the hotel’s entry checkpoints, snarling traffic. Down the road, police block access to Holy Trinity Catholic church on Sundays as worshipers congregate.

Nigerians have been living with high security alerts since attacks by an Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, intensified with a suicide bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Abuja in August. Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a surge in gun and bomb attacks, including a Christmas Day bombing of a church in an Abuja suburb and multiple blasts on Jan. 20 in the northern city of Kano that killed about 256 people. The group, whose name means “Western education is a sin,” seeks to impose strict Muslim law on the country. The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria warned American citizens on April 17 that Boko Haram may be planning more attacks in the capital.