Regional News
Bodies of 27 migrants including children found in Chadian desert- UN – Source. Africanews.
The bodies of 27 migrants believed to have died of thirst have been found in the Chadian desert, the U.N. migration agency said on Tuesday.
According to reports, the migrants reportedly left Moussoro, a crossroads town in West-Central Chad, 17 months ago in a pickup truck, the IOM said in a statement.
It is believed the truck got lost in the deep desert, broke down due to mechanical issues, and the migrants died of thirst, said the migration organization affiliated with the UN.
“We are deeply saddened by this most recent tragedy and extend our heartfelt condolences to the migrants’ families,” said Anne Kathrin Schaefer, IOM Chad Chief of Mission.
413 Nigerians killed in November- report- Source. Humangle.
More than 400 people were killed by violence across Nigeria in November, according to data collected by Global Rights, a human rights non-profit organisation.
The report seen by HumAngle shows that 413 Nigerians were killed last month, an increase from the 309 killed in October. This marks a rise in the trend of deaths caused by violence in the country.
The incidents are attributed to a number of factors, including ongoing conflicts over resources, political instability, and the presence of extremist groups in different parts of the country.
COVID-19: As Nigeria relaxes travel protocols, NCDC to give biweekly situation reports-Source. Premiumtimes.
Following the relaxation of COVID-19 travel protocols by the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has transitioned from weekly updates to biweekly situation reports of the pandemic.
The NCDC disclosed this in a public health advisory issued Wednesday, noting that the latest development is a “result of its recent assessments of the COVID-19 situation in the country”.
Millions of northerners selling PVCs for less than N2,000 Source. Dailtytrust.
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has said millions of northerners who have obtained their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) are selling them to politicians for less than N2,000.
A statement yesterday by the Director Publicity and Advocacy of NEF, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said the electorate and especially women, were being deceived to sell their PVCs for less than N2,000, an action he described as a ploy to disenfranchise some Nigerians in the North.
139 People released from prison after deadly protest in Chad. Source. Africanews.
Over 139 people arrested during a bloody protest in Chad in October have been released after a month and a half in detention.
A total of 80 received one to two years of suspended sentences and the remaining 59 were acquitted after a mass trial of 401 people.
Outlawed demonstrations were held on October 20th to mark the date when the military had initially promised to hand over power to civilians.
“All of these people have been given a release order. From this moment they are free and can go home,” Rachid Mahamat Allamine, the second deputy prosecutor in N’Djamena, told AFP.
Air Force strike destroys residence of Kaduna bandit kingpin, kills many terrorists- Source. Premiumtimes.
Several terrorists have been killed by Nigerian Air Force’s raids in Birnin Gwari, Igabi, and Chikun Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.
The state’s Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said details of the operation were communicated to the state government by security agencies.
Mr Aruwan said the Nigerian Air Force in continuation of aerial patrols across Kaduna State reported that several bandits were killed and camps destroyed in the latest round of operations.
The official said the latest aerial patrols identified and attacked an active location in Kasarami general area in Chikun Local Government.
Suspected militants target local volunteers supporting Burkina Faso army- Source. TRTWorld.
At least 12 people, most of them civilian volunteers supporting the armed forces, have been killed in northern Burkina Faso in a new attack by suspected militants, local sources told the AFP news agency.
The attack took place on Wednesday at Boala in the Centre-North region, two residents and a regional leader of the VDP volunteer force told AFP on Thursday.
Gunmen attack Jigawa community, shoot two, kidnap others- Source. Premiumtimes
The police in Jigawa State on Tuesday confirmed the abduction of two people following an attack by gunmen in Andaza Community in Kiyawa Local Government Area.
The police commissioner in the state, Emmanuel Effiom, said the gunmen also shot two other residents during the incident that occurred on Monday.
Residents said the kidnappers, wielding automatic weapons, attacked the town at midnight and went straight to the residence of their target, a medical doctor.
Terrorists create checkpoints, extort money from motorist in Zamafara– Source. Humangle
A terror group waylaid motorists and demanded money on the spot from passengers on Wednesday, Dec. 14 in Anka Local Government Area (LGA) of Zamfara State, Northwest Nigeria.
The gang extorted passengers from seven vehicles – N4,000 per car and N6,000 from a truck at about 9:40 a.m. along Kawaye-Dangulbi Road that leads to Bagega village.
Alu Isah, a visitor from Lokoja, Kogi State, in the North-central region of the country on a visit to his relatives in Dangulbi told HumAngle “I was one of the 17 people in a truck when six armed men carrying guns on their shoulders attacked us on the road. They asked us to contribute N6,000 as checkpoint charge for them to buy fuel for their motorcycles.”
Court convicts Kano cleric, Abduljabbar, for blasphemy- Source. Dailytrust.
An Upper Sharia Court in Kano has sentenced controversial Islamic cleric, Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara, to death by hanging.
The court earlier convicted the embattled cleric after finding him guilty of the charge of blasphemy levelled against him.
Peace and Security
Three killed in fresh attack on electoral commission office in Nigeria- Source. Africanews.
Nigeria’s police have killed three gunmen while repelling an attack on an Electoral Commission office in south-eastern Nigeria.
The attackers tried to storm the main Inec office in Owerri, capital of Imo State, police said, on Monday (November 12).
“The Inec headquarters in Owerri was attacked early this morning by gunmen who destroyed part of the building, furniture and equipment,” Michael Abattam, spokesman for the Imo State police told AFP.
Chadian army arrests officers say “Macabre Project” foiled- Source. Humangle.
The high command of the Chadian armed forces has confirmed it has arrested a number of soldiers, and said “a macabre project” designed to “perturb the institutions of the Republic” has been foiled, after a week of fierce rumours a coup against the military government was underway.
The Army did not put a number on the group of military officers it detained, but it is believed that at least 12 soldiers have been arrested.
“The high command of the army denies all this information and brings to the attention of national and international opinion that a small group of officers of the Chadian national army manipulated by civilians were carrying out actions tending to perturb the institutions of the Republic”, the statement by the army high command issued on Dec 13 said.
Humanitarian
Cameroonian families torn apart by Anglophone crisis detentions- Source. Aljazeera
Yaoundé, Cameroon – Five-year-old Josephine first met her father Louis Ambe when the coffin bearing his lifeless body was being lowered into the ground between the graves of his parents at the family residence in Bafia-Muyuka in southwest Cameroon.
Nigeria yet to announce investigations into military-abortion programme- Source. Humangle.
An investigation exposing a “secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme” in Northeast Nigeria run by the military, has prompted calls for investigation from international partners and pushback from the military. No official investigation into the report’s findings has yet been announced.
The report by the news agency Reuters published on Dec. 7 is based on dozens of witness accounts and documents. It stated that since at least 2013, the programme had ended over 10,000 pregnancies. Women and girls had died as a result of the termination procedures, the report said.
Nigeria inflations rises for 10th straight month to 21.47- Source. Premiumtimes.
Nigeria’s inflation rate rose for the 10th consecutive month in November to 21.47 per cent from 21.09 per cent recorded a month earlier amid a continuing increase in food and energy prices, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.
The statistics office said the prices of goods and services, measured by the Consumer Price Index, increased by 21.47 per cent in November 2022 compared to the rate in November 2021.
The figure is 6.07 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in November 2021.
Stabilization and economic development
Biden to reboot ties with Africa during the US-Africa summit- Source. Africanews.
African leaders are meeting this week in the United States of America for the annual US-Africa summit.
The summit brings together several African leaders, organizations and top US government officials.
The Biden’s three-day summit (13-15 Dec.) will feature announcements of new US investment and highlight food security — worsened by the invasion of Ukraine
The summit will also focus on values such as democracy and good governance, as well as fighting climate change.
One key topic will be the fate of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the 2000 deal that granted duty-free access to the US market for most products from sub-Saharan nations that meet standards on rights and democracy.
Senate asks CBN to reconsider cash withdrawal policy- Source. Premiumtimes.
The Senate has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to “considerably adjust the withdrawal limits” in response to public outcry on the policy.
The lawmakers also mandated its Committee on Banking and Finance to embark on aggressive oversight of the apex bank on its commitment to flexible adjustment of the withdrawal limit. The committee will periodically report the outcome to the Senate.
These are part of the recommendations adopted after the Senate considered the committee’s report on the implementation of cashless policy and new withdrawal limit.
Africa summit peace, security and governance issues dominate Tuesday’s talk. Source. Africanews.
Top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and defense chief Lloyd Austin, joined several key leaders from Africa to discuss peace, security and governance issues at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Tuesday.
The Biden administration’s three-day gathering is bringing in leaders from 49 African nations and the African Union for high-level talks.
During the discussion, Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, spoke about how the terrorist group, al-Shabaab, controlled large portions of Somalia’s rural areas.
“Shabaab, or terrorists anywhere they are, cannot be defeated militarily only,” he said.
African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said the U.S. is providing bilateral support to a number of African countries, including Niger, Mozambique, Somalia and Chad. But he said that African armies are still underequipped.
