Regional News
Niger coup makes the troubled Sahel region yet more fragile. Source: BBC
From Mali in the west to Sudan in the east, a whole swathe of Africa is now run by the military.
Niger was one of the few democracies left in the Sahel belt which stretches across the continent. But now that the army has seized power, there are concerns over what this means for the troubled region.
UN condemns ‘unconstitutional change’ in Niger. Source: BBC
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns the unconstitutional change in government” in Niger, his spokesman said on Wednesday. It came after Nigerien soldiers announced a coup on national TV, saying they had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions and closed the nation’s borders.
Attempted Coup: ECOWAS sends envoy to Niger. Source: Premium Times
The Chairman of ECOWAS and Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, disclosed this to journalists after he met behind closed doors with President Patrice Talon of Benin.
Mutinous soldiers say they’ve taken Niger. The government says a coup won’t be tolerated. Source: APNews
Nigeriens awoke to a divided country Thursday after mutinous soldiers claimed to have ousted the president. But Niger’s government said it will never accept their rule and has called for the population to reject it.
Niger president makes defiant vow to save democracy after coup. Source: Reuters
Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum took to social media on Thursday with a defiant vow to protect “hard-won” democratic gains a day after he was toppled in a military coup. The country’s foreign minister Hassoumi Massoudou also issued a rallying cry on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, for “all democrats and patriots” to make the coup fail.
Niger soldiers say President Bazoum’s government has been removed. Source: Reuters
Niger President Mohamed Bazoum has been removed from power, according to a group of soldiers who appeared on the West African nation’s national television late on Wednesday, hours after the president was held in the presidential palace. Reading from a statement, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, seated and flanked by nine other officers, said defence and security forces had decided: “Put an end to the regime that you know due to the deteriorating security situation and bad governance.
‘Coup attempt’ in troubled Niger as president held by guards. Source: news24
An attempted coup was under way Wednesday in the fragile state of Niger, where members of the Presidential Guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum, triggering a standoff with the army, sources said. The West African bloc ECOWAS and the African Union lashed what they called an “attempted coup d’etat,” a term echoed by a source close to Bazoum.
MNJTF Commander Seeks More Operational Supports from Chadian Military. Source: PRNigeria
The new Force Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Major General Ibrahim Sallau Ali has appreciated the Chadian Armed Forces for its support and appealed for more cooperation that would aid in achieving the mandate of the MNJTF.
Niger president held by guards, prompting regional fears of attempted coup. Source: Reuters
Presidential guards were holding Niger President Mohamed Bazoum inside his palace in the capital Niamey on Wednesday, security sources said, but the presidency said the guards had started an “anti-republican” movement “in vain” and that Bazoum was well.
Niger coup succeeds as soldiers dissolve constitution, shut borders. Source: premium Times
Led by Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane, the soldiers announced they had carried out a coup and closed all West African borders.
Niger Republic Military Officers Confirm President Bazoum’s Removal, Declare Closure Of Borders, Curfew. Source: Sahara Reporters
Abdramane said Niger’s borders are closed, a nationwide curfew declared, and all institutions of the republic are suspended.
Suspected ISWAP militants kill 25 in Nigeria’s Borno state, residents say. Source: Reuters
Islamist militants killed at least 25 people and wounded others in attacks on two villages in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, a hotbed for insurgency, a police source and two residents said on Wednesday. The militants killed 18 herders grazing their livestock in one village and seven other people in another village, both in Kukawa district of the state that borders neighbouring Chad on Tuesday, the police source said.
Detained Niger president defiant after coup bid. Source: Guardian
Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum on Thursday defiantly vowed to protect “hard-won” democratic gains after he was detained by elite troops who declared they had taken power in the troubled West African nation.
RISING FROM ASHES: How 2 Borno Girls Defy Boko Haram Carnage to Become Certified Midwives. Source:PRNigeria
Boko Haram: Security Beefed Up At Atiku’s Residence. Source: Daily Trust
Security has been beefed up at the residence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the Dougirei area in Yola, Adamawa State capital. Daily Trust.
Nigerian troops destroy more IPOB camps, kill one – Official. Source: Premium Times
Troops of the Nigerian army have again destroyed some camps of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN) in various parts of Anambra State, South-east Nigeria.
Nigeria’s army increases troop numbers to tackle violence in Plateau State. Source: rfi
A local official in Plateau State in Nigeria’s restive north has said that at least 80,000 people have been displaced in the past three months by intercommunal violence. Attacks have been mounting since May. The army has reinforced security to end the clashes.
Desperate hunt for fuel threatens a once thriving forest reserve in Cameroon. Source: rfi
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled to north-east Cameroon amid violence by Islamist extremists. As the influx puts pressure on the region’s natural resources, locals say their forest has suffered. Now displaced people are seeking help to replace trees and find alternative fuel sources.
Terrorists Chase Farmers From Their Land In Nigeria’s North West. Source: Humangle
Scores of armed men in Zamfara state attacked several communities, unopposed by security forces. Farmers were killed, a dozen abducted and the rest chased from their land in an assault that lasted hours.
Troops Nab 9 Terrorists at IPOB Camps in Anambra. Source: PRNigeria
In the ongoing clearance operations to ensure peace and security in South East Nigeria, troops of 302 Regiment operating under 82 Division of the Nigerian Army in conjunction with Anambra Vigilante Group have destroyed camps belonging to fighters of the proscribed Indigenous people of Biafra and its Armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network in Oroma and Umuewelum Anam in Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Ground Troops Foil Terrorists’ Ambush, Eliminate 7 in Zamfara Village. Source: PRNigeria
Nigerian Troops on Monday eliminated seven terrorists in Zamfara State, PRNigeria reports. It was gathered that the terrorists met their gruesome end after their ambush on troops was repelled.
Four Boko Haram Suspects Sent To Attack Me, Other Locations In Yola, Now In Military Custody – Atiku Abubakar. Source: Sahara Reporters
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the Nigerian police confirmed arresting two suspected Boko Haram terrorists on a mission to attack the former vice president’s residence in Yola.
Armed gang kills 34 people in northwest Nigeria attack. Source: Reuters
At least 34 people, including seven soldiers, were killed in an attack by a gang of armed men in Nigeria’s northwest Zamfara state, the head of a vigilante group and residents said. The attack in the remote Dan Gulbi district of the Maru local government area of the state occurred on Monday afternoon, Ismail Magaji, the head of the local vigilante group, told Reuters.
Terrorists Raid Bauchi State Communities, Kill Seven Persons After Gun Duel With Nigerian Military. Source: Sahara Reporters
The Nigeria Police Force, Bauchi State Command has confirmed the killing of seven persons by gunmen in fresh attacks by suspected terrorists in parts of the state. The gunmen reportedly raided the villages of Gara and Gamji in Burra District of Ningi Local Government Area of the State on Tuesday night at about 9pm and killed no fewer than seven persons.
Peace and Security
President Tinubu Seeks Change in Military Doctrine to Confront Unconventional Forces
Speaking at the graduation ceremony of Senior Course 45 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, the President pointed out that the adversaries facing countries in the sub-region are not conventional armies engaging in traditional battlefield warfare.
West Africa recorded over 1,800 terrorist attack in first six months of 2023, regional official says. Source: United Nations (AP)
West Africa recorded over 1,800 terrorist attacks in the first six months of the year resulting in nearly 4,600 deaths with dire humanitarian consequences, and a top regional official said Tuesday that’s just “a snippet of the horrendous impact of insecurity.”
President Tinubu Warns Suspected Coupists in Niger Republic. Source: PRNigeria
As the Chairperson of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, Presidenr Tinubu state without equivocation that Nigeria stands firmly with the elected government in Niger and equally conveys the absolute resolve of leaders in our sub-region that we shall not waiver or flinch on our stand to defend and preserve constitutional order.
Humanitarian
1,200 Nigerians Die In Sahara Desert, Mediterranean Sea In 2023 — IOM. Source: Daily Trust
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said at least 1,200 Nigerians have died while trying to migrate through the Sahara desert and Mediterranean Sea this year.
Starvation plagues internally displaced persons who often go to bed with empty bellies. Source: RNI
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Borno State are starving – most of them are finding it hard to provide just one meal a day for their families with many parents giving whatever they have to their children and going to bed with empty bellies themselves.
Nigerian doctors walk off the job again. Overstretched and underpaid, many have left for overseas. Source: APnews
Resident doctors in Nigerian public hospitals on Wednesday launched their second strike this year to protest unpaid salaries and demand improvements in pay and working conditions.
Teenage Writer Faces Jail Over Book About Girl’s Rights In Cameroon. Source: Humangle
A 17-year-old girl in Cameroon has appeared in court facing charges of blasphemy, she was dragged there by the traditional ruler of her village for writing a book that highlights abuses against young girls.
Palliatives: We Don’t Trust The Process — TUC. Source; Daily Trust
The Trade Union Congress has described as “empty policy laced with lies”, the Federal Government’s directive to state governors to draw plans on the palliatives to mitigate the impact of the recent petrol price increase.
Gender-based violence is on the rise as humanitarian crisis deepens in Nigeria’s northeast. Source: RNI
Every day in Nigeria’s northeast, a region plagued for 14 years by armed conflict, more and more women are being brutally abused by their husbands and the number of cases of gender-based violence (GBV) is escalating alarmingly.
Education is a basic human right, not a privilege. Source: RNI
Fourteen years of ongoing conflict in Borno State in Nigeria’s northeast has had a devastating effect on thousands of internally displaced children, most of whom have not been able to go to school – and the chances of them ever getting an education are slim.
43% Of Nigerian Kids In Child Labour, Says FG. Source: Daily Trust
The federal government says 43 percent of Nigerian children between the ages of five and 11 actively participate in economic activities.
Rising Cost Of Living Crippling Businesses, Households – NECA. Source: Daily Trust
CPPE calls for moderation of forex market The Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde has expressed concerns over the rising cost.
Men’s involvement crucial in eradicating violence against women, experts say. Source: Guardian
Experts have called for men’s involvement in eradicating violence against women. This call was made at the grand finale of a four-day training workshop organized by Citadel Management Development Consult in collaboration with Sure Smiles Women and Children Initiatives, held at the FCTA Training Centre, Abuja.
63% Nigerians face abject poverty – UNICEF. Source: Blueprint
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed concern over poverty level of ordinary Nigerians, lamenting that 63 per cent of Nigerians faces deprivation and other forms of poverty in the country. Speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day policy and programmatic dialogue workshop on Nigeria’s poverty profile and social register Tuesday in Abuja, UNICEF Nigeria Representative, Cristian Munduate, said she had personally witnessed the menace of poverty across the country and its accompanying toll in several aspects of people’s lives, including in the area of education.
Prohibitive fuel prices are slaughtering one of the largest cattle markets in Nigeria. Source: RNI
The high price of cattle, exorbitant transport fares, the rising cost of living and the soaring fuel price are slowly killing off Kasuwan Shanu, one of the largest cattle markets in Nigeria.
Stabilization and economic development
Subsidy pain: Labour talks tough, ASUU, protesters condemn relief plans
The groaning occasioned by the removal of the fuel subsidy grew louder on Monday as the Nigerian Labour Congress said it was ready to fight the economic pains and hardship caused by the Federal Government’s decision.
Short-Term Pain for Long-Term Gain? Nigerians Buckle Under Painful Cuts. Source: New York times.
A teacher in northern Nigeria walks three hours to school every day, no longer able to pay for a ride in a tuk tuk rickshaw. Bakers operate at a loss amid soaring flour prices. Workers in Lagos sleep overnight in their offices to avoid the prohibitive cost of commuting. Since President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria was sworn in less than two months ago, he has shaken up his country with economic decisions that have been welcomed by investors and international backers, but been devastating to the livelihoods of many Nigerians. Now the question is whether Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, with 220 million people, will thrive or just get sicker from the bitter medicine dispensed by its new president.
Cost Of Living Crisis: Nigerian Farm Labourers Suffer As Food Prices Rocket. Source: Humangle
People who have spent a decade displaced from their own farms in Nigeria’s North East have been finding work labouring on other people’s land. But now, the crisis in the cost of living has suddenly pushed basic staples out of reach of their wages.
As schools hike fees, Nigerian govt insists universities still tuition-free. Source: Premium Times
Many Nigerian universities owned by the federal government have, in the past few months, increased fees to be paid by students, leaving parents and their wards groaning.
