After checking a few registrars, I found they only sell third-level domains (.com.ng, .net.ng), not second-level domains (like "amazi.ng") which is probably what most people here would be interested in.

Example: http://www.webdomains.com.ng/myaccount/whois.php?step=1

It's a shame they're missing the opportunity to sell such a nice top-level domain - or perhaps it's done on purpose?

I think .com.ng kind of domains have been around for a while, the latest news is that they are going to open .ng domains for everyone, really soon. at least i believe thats whats going to happen.

People should probably stop voting this story up; the .ng domains are not currently on sale anywhere I can see, and there's no sign that they will be generally available any time soon.

The article mentions 27 registration-capable companies but fails to provide any names or links. Any voices of experience for which service should I use for purchasi.ng a Nigerian domain?

The list of registrars is here: http://www.nira.org.ng/index.php/registrars. I looked through the list of the platinum, gold and silver levels and none of their websites support .ng yet.

Hi, I happen to be a Platinum Registrar [www.websoft.com.ng] & below are documents regarding the 2nd level .ng domains which are to be auctioned.

http://www.nira.org.ng/index.php/auction

http://nira.org.ng/media/pdf/NIRA%20AUCTION%20PROCESS%20Marc...

Its sad that just a minority of Nigerians [0.05%] of a population of 150million have completely destroyed the reputation of an entire nation. Nonetheless, Websoft has been able to earn the trust of some Fortune 500 companies & hence our selection as the Registrar in Nigeria & we stand committed to building a New Image of Nigeria & flush out these unscrupulous elements.

Should have read the comments first. Just wasted 20 minutes trying to find a registrar.

This is an example of why 90% of the time, I read the HN comments and then decide whether the story is worth checking.

And when I don't, I usually regret it. Like now.

It would appear that second-level .ng domains might be available, but only for companies incorporated in Nigeria, which is probably not a bad idea.

I went searching for a registrar as well. There are a couple of ng domains that might be interesting to use though I'd still be worried about the Nigerian scam stigma.

but look at how much revenue they're going to lose by not making .ng available.... .ly is a good example

I did a little more research and it looks like the second-level .ng domains are being sold through an auction slot process. The starting bids are around $50,000.

Can you cite the source of that?

Direct email from Websoft (http://websoft-ng.com)

With the stigma of Nigerian emails scams would you really even want to be associated with .ng?

I guess one of their goals is to change this stigma by having more legitimate Nigerian online presence

Nigeria is one of the last countries I would ever trust with any sort of credit card information. However, if namecheap can nab these as an option, I'll probably snag a few of them

Lame.