LONDON - Nigeria's sovereign dollar-denominated bonds extended the previous session's gains on Thursday, and the naira began another day of volatile trading, after the central bank removed currency restrictions and pushed to unify exchange rates.

The 2031 bond issue enjoyed the largest gains, jumping as much as 1 cent on the dollar, with bids just under 90 cents on the dollar - its strongest level since January, Tradeweb data showed.

The naira reached 651 to the dollar - well below the 755 record it hit on Wednesday before closing at 464.5, Refinitiv data showed.

Nigeria's central bank said in a statement issued after the end of the trading day in New York on Wednesday that all trading would now take place at what is known as its Investors and Exporters (I&E) window and re-introduced the "willing buyer, willing seller" model.

(Reporting by Karin Strohecker, editing by Libby George)