Ni ‧ ge ‧ ri ‧ a /naɪˈdʒɪ ə riə/ BrE AmE
an oil-producing country in West Africa, east of Benin and west of Cameroon. Population: 138,283,240 (2008). Its capital is Abuja, and its largest city is Lagos. Nigeria became an independent state in 1960, after being ruled by the UK for almost 100 years. About half its population are Muslims, who live mainly in the north, and the rest are Christians, living mainly in the south.
—Nigerian noun , adjective