France and Mali stopped giving visas to each other’s citizens, as tensions between the two former allies have grown, Le Monde reports.
According to the French daily, the French embassy in the capital of Mali, Bamako, stopped issuing new visas after Paris added Mali to its list of “red zone” nations where its residents are strongly discouraged from travelling. In a travel advisory update, the French foreign ministry said “In the current context of strong regional tensions, all travel to Mali is strongly not advised. French citizens in Mali are urged to show the greatest vigilance.”
In “reciprocity,” the junta in Mali responded by halting the issuance of new visas to French citizens at its embassy in Paris, according to the Malian foreign ministry.
According to the French online visa service provider Capago, the French embassy’s “reorganisation” of services as a result of the higher security classification has rendered it “unable to issue visas until further notice.”
“In a context of strong regional tensions, Mali has been classified as a red zone by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. This modification leads to a reorganisation of the services of the French Embassy in Bamako, which will therefore no longer be able to issue visas until further notice. Therefore, we inform you that the visa centre and the Capago call centre are closed,” the statement reads.
Mali’s foreign ministry said that it had learned of the reclassification “with surprise” in a statement posted to social media.
Relations between France and Mali deteriorated following the military’s takeover of Bamako in 2020 and the removal of elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita reportedly due to his failures to quell a brutal insurgency.
In a phased pullout that finished in 2022, France started to withdraw its anti-militant troops as the conflict grew worse and the junta enlisted the help of Russian paramilitaries.
Mali’s junta then imposed a ban on the operations of NGOs funded or supported by France, including aid organisations, as tensions between Paris and Bamako grew. Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, the country’s interim prime minister, defended the action in a statement on social media, claiming it was in retaliation for France’s recent suspension of development assistance for Mali.
Meanwhile, an uptick in regional tensions brought on by a coup on July 26 in Niger, a crucial French ally, has coincided with the bilateral dispute.
French visa issuance has also been banned in Burkina Faso, another former Sahelian ally that had two coups in 2022, according to the Capago website.
In January 2013, after sending troops to combat militants in the nation’s north, France was hailed as a hero in Mali. Nine years later, the insurgency has gotten worse and many Malians are cheering France’s departure.
[Premium Times]
Rhissa Ag Boula, a former rebel leader and politician in Niger, launched a movement called the Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR) on Wednesday to oppose the junta that took power in the country after the July 26 coup. The new movement aims to restore former President Mohamed Bazoum to power.
CRR marks the first coordinated internal effort to resist the junta’s takeover of Niger. Boula declared that, in addition to their own efforts, CRR will support international actions aimed at restoring Bazoum and his administration to power. This comes as West African heads of states in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced that they are considering all options, including the use of force, to restore Bazoum to power. ECOWAS previously on July 30 imposed sanctions on junta leaders and demanded Bazoum be reinstated within a week. Since that time period has now lapsed, the international community is watching for ECOWAS to announce further action.
This past week, reports on Bazoum’s living conditions in detention sparked additional international attention on the junta. Bazoum’s party, the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism, told Reuters that the former president and his family were detained under “cruel” and “inhumane” conditions with “no running water, no electricity and no access to fresh goods or doctors,” in violation of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his concern on Monday and added his support to ECOWAS’s ongoing efforts.
On July 26, military members of Bazoum’s personal guard overthrew the government in a coup. Since then, Army General Abdourahamane Tiani has declared himself President of Niger’s new military government. The country’s newly installed ruling council, called the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland, formed out of Bazoum’s presidential guard.
The coup has received widespread international condemnation, with world leaders calling for the return of Bazoum. UN Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel—the region where Niger is located—Leonardo Santos Simão is also remaining in nearby Abuja, Nigeria to continue good offices support to negotiate a return of power to Bazoum’s administration.
[www.jurist.org]
President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire says he considers those behind the coup in Niger as terrorists.
He said the standby force to be deployed to Niger, agreed on Thursday, was a collective effort of the West African regional bloc, adding that the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to end the military rule in Niger is not Nigeria’s fight alone.
Ouattara spoke on the sidelines of an extraordinary summit by the ECOWAS in Abuja.
According to the Ivorian president, all the heads of state in the regional bloc thought they had exhausted all dialogue efforts with the Niger coupists.
“ECOWAS cannot accept this. This is not a matter of Nigeria against Niger. Not at all,” he said.
“The decision that we have made — and I hope that it will be implemented immediately — is a decision of ECOWAS.”
“I personally consider this as a terrorist act and we cannot let this continue. We have to act.”
The Ivorian leader said his country’s decision aligned with the ECOWAS, adding that the coup leaders should be in barracks, not in government.
“The decision of Cote d’Ivoire, which has been endorsed by all of the Heads of State and that we have been able to tell these putschists, is that their place is in the barracks,” he added.
[DailyTrust]
ECOWAS activates standby force, says all options are open on Niger, though force is a 'last resort'
Admin- ECOWAS has activated a standby force for potential military intervention in Niger.
- Force is a "last resort", it says, but not off the table.
- Niger's new military rulers have taken a defiant attitude towards ECOWAS demands that the government.
The West African bloc ECOWAS on Thursday ordered the activation of a standby force for possible use against the junta that took power in Niger in July, saying it wanted a peaceful restoration of democracy but all options including force were on the table.
The threat of an invasion, though not specific, will keep tensions high in and around Niger, a uranium producer that until the coup was an important ally of the West in the fight against Islamist insurgents devastating the Sahel region. The junta, which seized power on 26 July, had defied a 6 August deadline to stand down set by ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), instead closing Niger's airspace and vowing to defend the country against any foreign attack.
After a summit of its heads of state in the Nigerian capital Abuja, the bloc pledged to enforce sanctions, travel bans and asset freezes on those preventing the return to power of democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
"No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort," said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, the ECOWAS chair.
"I hope that through our collective effort we can bring about a peaceful resolution as a roadmap to restoring stability and democracy in Niger," he said. "All is not lost yet." An official statement was read out which included a resolution asking the bloc's defence chiefs to "activate the ECOWAS Standby Force with all its elements immediately".
Another resolution spoke of ordering "the deployment of the ECOWAS Standby Force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger", immediately followed by another that spoke of restoring such order "through peaceful means". Security analysts said a regional force could take weeks or longer to assemble, potentially leaving room for negotiations.
The bloc has planned to create a standby force of thousands of troops for years but was held back by funding delays and insufficient troop commitments, said Ikemesit Effiong, a researcher at SBM Intelligence in Nigeria.
After a string of coups since 2020 and growing militant activity, regional leaders said in December that they were determined to create such a force. It was not immediately clear how far along they were in assembling it.
ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray told the U.N. Security Council last month that they were considering two options: a brigade of 5,000 troops at an annual cost of $2.3 billion or the deployment of troops on demand at an annual cost of $360 million.
Thursday's statement did not spell out how the force would be funded, which countries would participate or how many troops and what hardware they could contribute.
"There's probably still a lot that has not been agreed to, such as timeline and red lines and what to do in contingency situations if things continue to go sour," said Aneliese Bernard, director of consultancy Strategic Stabilization Advisors.
'Get them out'
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the summit, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said he considered the detention of Bazoum "a terrorist act".
"We want democracy in our sub-region. We do not accept, we will not accept coups d'etat. These putschists must go. If they don't let Bazoum out to be able to exercise his mandate, I think we should move ahead and get them out," he said. ECOWAS sought to project an image of resolution and unity, but the bloc is split, with suspended member states Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by military governments, vowing to defend the Niger junta.
"There's still a lot of unknowns, but this (ECOWAS statement) is a significant next step and certainly an escalation of tensions, at least between the regional bloc and the junta bloc that seems to be forming right now, between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger specifically," said Bernard.
The United Nations and Western powers have backed ECOWAS efforts to persuade the coup leaders to relinquish power and free Bazoum, who is being detained in his residence, but so far they have given no sign they were willing to back down. Hours before the summit in Abuja, they named a slate of ministers in an apparent move to entrench their position and present themselves as a legitimate government
Western countries fear Niger could follow Mali's footsteps and seek help from Russia's Wagner Group, which the US has designated a transnational criminal organisation. Wagner's chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has welcomed the Niger coup and said his forces were available to restore order.
Despite being one of the world's poorest countries, landlocked Niger, which is more than twice the size of France, is the world's seventh-largest producer of uranium, a crucial material for nuclear power.
Until the coup, it was also an increasingly valuable ally for the West after Mali and others turned against former colonial power France in favour of closer ties with Russia. U.S., French, German and Italian troops are stationed in Niger as part of an international struggle against a long-running Islamist insurgency that spread across the Sahel from Mali displacing millions and causing a hunger crisis.
Following a pattern seen after the coups in Mali and Burkina Faso between 2020 and 2022, the junta in Niamey has engaged in vitriolic anti-French rhetoric, seeking to blame France for Niger's problems and accusing it of a range of violations of sovereignty, which Paris has denied.
[news24]
This year’s Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) summit will have a distinctive African flavour. Hosted by its only African member, the meeting has an African theme and will be attended by many African leaders as part of an outreach programme. It is expected to consider at least six African countries’ applications for membership.
The theme of the 22-24 August summit is “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism”. Sixty-seven leaders from the global south have been invited. Significantly, French president Emmanual Macron — who told Pretoria he would like to attend — hasn’t been invited.
Interest in joining BRICS has surged. At a briefing this week, South Africa’s international relations Minister Naledi Pandor said while several more nations had shown interest, 23 had formally applied. These were Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, State of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam.
Pandor said this indicated recognition of BRICS as a champion of the global south, and the benefits of membership. South Africa’s BRICS ‘sherpa’ Anil Sooklal believes one reason for seeking membership now is the growing polarisation impelled by Russia’s war on Ukraine and rising United States-China tensions. These create anxiety among smaller nations, and an impetus to seek “security in numbers”.
Not all six African governments that formally applied have officially confirmed this. Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia have — but Nigeria, Senegal and Morocco’s positions are unclear.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to Russia, Abdullahi Shehu, was recently quoted as saying accession talks hadn’t commenced, but he didn’t rule out future membership. However, Nigeria’s Guardian cites several experts as saying Nigeria isn’t ready for BRICS membership. They say it lacks economic sophistication — including having little to export to other BRICS countries besides oil. Also, the new reformist Bola Tinubu administration has much on its plate.
Nigeria analyst and Chief Executive of Africa @ Work Dianna Games told ISS Today she was surprised to see Nigeria on the list, but added: “Tinubu is very proactive, so it’s possible he could be driving something like that, looking to spread influence because Nigeria has turned quite inwards under Buhari in foreign policy, and perhaps he is trying to regain lost ground in terms of influence”.
What each African country hopes to get from BRICS is diverse and somewhat unclear. Egypt would probably be among the first to join, especially as it’s already a member of BRICS’ New Development Bank. Cairo is particularly interested in BRICS’ plans to shift more trade from the US dollar into local currencies — and even perhaps to create its own currency.
Algeria’s president Abdelmadjid Tebboune sees joining as helping to create a more equitable world order, which would help Algeria distance itself ‘from the attraction of the two poles.’ His foreign minister recently expressed hopes for deriving trade benefits.
These views reveal common misconceptions about BRICS. The two poles Tebboune referred to — which are growing further apart due to the Ukraine war — are clearly the West on the one side and Russia and China on the other. So BRICS can hardly be called non-aligned.
And seeing BRICS as a useful trade booster misses the fact that it’s not a trade bloc at all. Pandor highlighted that BRICS countries have around 42% of the world’s population and 30% of its territory, 27% of global GDP and 20% of international trade. But only about 6% of the total trade of the five members is with each other.
BRICS is nonetheless a useful economic club — most concretely through its New Development Bank, which has already loaned $5.4-billion to South Africa for five projects. But viewed geopolitically, BRICS is less of a non-aligned “champion of the global south” as Pandor put it this week, than an alternative to a Western-dominated world, as Tebboune says — or even, more pointedly, anti-Western.
This is a prickly point. Pandor said South Africa didn’t “see BRICS as being pro-Russia or anti-Western … South Africa’s trading partners in the West are very, very important to South Africa’s economic progress”. Games also didn’t think Nigeria would join BRICS to tip the global power balance against the West, as it valued all its main trading partners equally.
Priyal Singh, Institute for Security Studies Senior Researcher, says the motivation for BRICS membership differs even among current members. “India, for example, has consistently pointed to its pursuit of ‘strategic autonomy’ on the world stage; and a stronger (or enlarged) BRICS grouping aligns with this foreign policy objective. This is also a compelling narrative for Brazil and South Africa, with Pretoria leaning heavily into its pursuit of a more multipolar international order narrative.”
But as tensions rise over Ukraine and Taiwan, Russia and China increasingly appear to regard BRICS as an alliance against the West, and so presumably would some candidate members like Iran and Venezuela.
Yet such an alliance has its own fault lines, most notably the tensions between China and India, especially over their Kashmir border dispute. Last week South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to persuade him that it was worth attending the summit in person.
And it’s not coincidental that Russia and China, BRICS’ two autocratic members, are apparently most enthusiastic about expanding membership while democratic India and Brazil are wary (with South Africa in the middle), a South African official said off the record.
This seems to be why the five BRICS members’ foreign ministers are still struggling, days before the summit, to agree on membership criteria to submit to the heads of state. Defining the bloc’s identity and global role has also become a struggle.
“I certainly would guard against any criteria for expansion that would lead us down a path where we contribute to increasing conflict in the global community or in any part of the world,” Pandor said. That is probably not how China and Russia see the issue.
BRICS offers benefits to its members, including more choices in development financing, collaboration on issues such as health, and gradual independence from the dollar’s dominance. But anyone contemplating membership must be wary about the danger of going down precisely the path that Pandor warned against. DM
First published by ISS Today.
The pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, may increase to about N750 per litre, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has hinted.
This is even as the association urged the government to initiate policies that would save the naira from further depreciation.
National spokesperson of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, gave the hint on Thursday, in Abuja.
Although he said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), being the major importer of petroleum products, has yet to change its ex-depot price from N587.7.
“There will be a 10 percent increase because the dollar was N750, now it is over N900. That is almost a 20% increase. If you apply this, you should be talking about N750/ litre.
“Currently, dollar rate at the parallel market, as of today, is N910, which also means that the landing cost of PMS will increase and also the domestic price of PMS will increase.
“People should understand that the government is no longer subsidizing and there is no local production in Nigeria. Had it been there is local production, it would have been able to cushion the effect of too many naira pursuing the dollar. It would have helped us and saved the naira.
“If the government does not do something drastically, before the end of this year, naira may be close to N1,100 per dollar and this will be a serious inflation for Nigeria,” he added.
[TheWill]
The Nigerian Immigration Service has refuted a social media report claiming that some of its operatives who purportedly mounted illegal checkpoints at the Badagry-Seme border were arrested by policemen from the Inspector General of Police Special Squad.
The IGP squad, according to the viral report, chased and arrested some police officers as well as immigration personnel found at some checkpoints believed to have been created to extort citizens.
Reacting in an interview with our correspondent on Friday, the Comptroller of Border Patrol at Seme, Emmanuel Gbemudu, denied the allegation.
He noted that none of his men were arrested, saying the border patrol has four points, and the allegation of illegal checkpoints is false.
Gbemudu said, “No immigration personnel was arrested. I saw the whole thing yesterday and I was shocked. Border Patrol has four checkpoints, and they are known to the people. The issue of illegal checkpoints does not arise. It is fake news.”
Also, the Comptroller of Immigration Service, Seme border Command, Douglas Audu said he had investigated the claim and found no truth in it.
Audu said, “There is no iota of truth in the report. To me, that is fake news. Nobody was arrested around or in our corridor. We have done our investigation and found out that nobody was picked.
“We have two commands here. There is the seme border command and we have the Lagos state border patrol command. I have done my investigation and nobody was arrested at either of the two commands. ”
All efforts to get the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi to confirm if immigration personnel were arrested proved abortive. He did not pick up calls to his line and has yet to respond to messages sent to him as of the time of filling this report.
[Punch]
Emmanuel Ogalla, the chief of naval staff, says an operational base will be established in Enugu to assure investors that the south-east is safe and open for business.
He said the base will be stationed at the Adada river in Uzo Uwani LGA.
Speaking during his visit to Peter Mbah, governor of Enugu, on Friday, Ogalla said securing the state’s coastal areas will improve the security of lives and property of the people.
“The Nigerian navy has three primary roles, which are first, the military duties, being the protection of this country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty from the maritime domain. We have policing roles as well as diplomatic roles,” he said.
“We have noticed that within this role of policing duties, we have not really extended our functions to Enugu State, and we want to do that with your support.
“To this end, we plan to extend our operations to encompass and cover the broader spectrum of Enugu State, knowing that the state has a navigable river around Uzo Uwani.
“That river used to be a seaport during the colonial era, and it has been abandoned.
“We believe that if we are able to police that area, it will give assurances to investors, who will now invest in the development of that seaway for the benefit of the people of Enugu state.
“Our operations there will be aimed at providing internal security operations both through area surveillance and patrol in such a manner that economic activities can thrive without hindrance.
“So, I want to seek your support as we make this bold initiative towards showing presence within that important seaway.”
On his part, Mbah said his administration is committed to making Enugu the prime destination for investment and tourism, adding that achieving this is dependent on resilient security.
“We know that some of us may be hearing for the first time that Enugu has navigable water because there is this erroneous perception that our state is a landlocked state,” Mbah said.
“I am very happy that you made that clarification that indeed Enugu state, at some point, provided veritable seaport for this country where goods and persons were moved from our land.
“So, I am happy the naval chief made the commitment today that the Navy will establish an operational base in Enugu State.
“This is heartwarming for us, as this will support the fight against insecurity in Enugu, especially at that flank of our state.
“I want to assure you, on behalf of the government of Enugu state, that we are going to support you with all that is required to ensure the actualisation of your operational base.”
[TheCable]
A former President of the West Africa Bar Association (WABA) and prominent legal expert, Femi Falana, has shed light on the disturbing trend of coups within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
In a communique yesterday, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), cited the “reckless exploitation of natural resources” as one of the principal driving forces behind the unsettling political unrest and the rise of unconstitutional changes in government.
Drawing on the historical and current socio-political landscape, Falana emphasized that the external influence and interference, particularly from former colonial regimes, coupled with the unchecked extraction of the region’s vast natural resources, has perpetuated economic inequalities. Such disparities have, in turn, led to mounting frustrations and grievances among the populace, creating a conducive environment for coups and power struggles.
Falana’s observations come at a time when ECOWAS has been under increased scrutiny, with a growing number of its member states experiencing political upheavals.
He said the correlation between resource mismanagement and political instability underscores the urgent need for reformed governance and transparent economic practices in the region.
He said: “We have confirmed that another principal cause of change of governments in West Africa is the reckless exploitation of the natural resources of the member states of the ECOWAS by former colonial regimes and their allies. Such exploitation is compounded by the control of the national economy by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
“The implementation of the anti people’s policies of the foreign forces has continued to increase the poverty of the entire people of the region.
Out of frustration with civilian governments, unemployed youths and victims of human rights abuse usually troop to the streets to celebrate coup plotters. The ECOWAS leaders should end the crude exploitation of natural resources and empower the people to control the commonwealth of member states in accordance with Article 21 (1) of the Charter which provides:
“All peoples shall freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources. This right shall be exercised in the exclusive interest of the people. In no case shall a people be deprived of it.”
The rights activists also noted that the immediate and remote cause of unconstitutional change of governments is the manipulation of constitutions and referenda by elected governments to extend the tenure of Presidents.
He recalled that in 2015, ECOWAS leaders proposed to restrict West African presidents to two terms in office to stop unconstitutional changes of governments in West Africa.
He said the proposal was shelved as it was opposed by Togo and The Gambia, both with presidents who had been in power for more than two terms in office.
But following the coup in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, ECOWAS leaders under the immediate past chairman, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana proposed to amend of the Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance to limit the tenure of Presidents to a maximum period of two terms in office.
The amendment was not passed due to the objection by President Allason Quatara of Cote divoire, Mall of Senegal, and Faure Eyadama of Togo. Presidents Quatara and Eyadama are currently spending more than two terms in office while President Mall is scheming for a third term.
Falana urged the new chairman of ECOWAS, President Bola Tinubu, to ensure that the amendment is passed forthwith while sanctions are imposed on democratically elected presidents who engage in amendment of the national constitutions to extend their tenure beyond two terms.
[Leadership]
Junta threaten to 'kill' ousted President Bazoum as West African nations prepare to send troops to restore democracy in Niger
AdminTensions are escalating on Friday between Niger's new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Niger's flailing democracy .
The ECOWAS bloc said on Thursday it had directed a “standby force” to restore constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.
Hours earlier, two Western officials told The Associated Press that Niger’s junta had told a top U.S. diplomat they would kill Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.
It's unclear when or where the force will deploy and which countries from the 15-member bloc would contribute to it. Conflict experts say it would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.
After the ECOWAS meeting, neighboring Ivory Coast’s president, Alassane Ouattara, said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Nigeria and Benin.
“Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements ... We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region,” Ouattara said on state television.
Niger, an impoverished country of some 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in beating back a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that's ravaged the region. France and the United States have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and together with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military.
Threat to kill Bazoum 'grim', say US
The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.
On Thursday night after the summit, France's foreign ministry said it supported “all conclusions adopted.” U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country appreciated “the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis” and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the U.S. supported the deployment of troops.
The mutinous soldiers that ousted Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue and have refused to release the president. Representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum's life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
A U.S. official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
“The threat to kill Bazoum is grim,” said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.
Human Rights Watch said Friday that it had spoken to Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor. The president said he hasn't had electricity for nearly 10 days and isn't allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.
It's unclear if the threat on Bazoum's life would change ECOWAS' decision to intervene military. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.
“An ECOWAS invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Niger’s size and population would be unprecedented,” said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for ECOWAS. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.
While the region oscillates between mediation and preparing for war, Nigeriens are suffering the impact of harsh economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.
Before the coup, more than 4 million Nigeriens were reliant on humanitarian assistance and the situation could become more dire, said Louise Aubin, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Niger.
“The situation is alarming. ... We’ll see an exponential rise and more people needing more humanitarian assistance," she said, adding that the closure of land and air borders makes it hard to bring aid into the country and it’s unclear how long the current stock will last.
Aid groups are battling restrictions on multiple fronts.
ECOWAS sanctions have banned the movement of goods between member countries, making it hard to bring in materials. The World Food Program has some 30 trucks stuck at the Benin border unable to cross. Humanitarians are also trying to navigate restrictions within the country as the junta has closed the airspace, making it hard to get clearance to fly the humanitarian planes that transport goods and personnel to hard-hit areas.
Flights are cleared on a case-by-case basis and there’s irregular access to fuel, which disrupts aid operations, Aubin said.
The U.N. has asked ECOWAS to make exceptions to the sanctions and is speaking to Niger’s foreign ministry about doing the same within the country.
[newarab]
More...
In recent news, content creators and social media influencers in Nigeria are celebrating as they begin to receive payments from ‘X’, the rebranded Twitter, through its innovative ad revenue-sharing model. This groundbreaking initiative enables verified users, both in Nigeria and globally, to monetize their presence on the platform. The coveted blue Verified badge on ‘X’ signifies the authenticity of an account of public interest. However, obtaining this badge requires meeting specific criteria and impressions thresholds on posts and content.
To become eligible for the blue badge, your ‘X’ account must be authentic, notable, and active. It’s worth noting that the blue checkmark indicates an account’s active subscription to Twitter Blue, along with meeting ‘X’s’ stringent eligibility standards. To even qualify for this badge, your account should have a minimum of 500 followers and a substantial 15 million impressions on cumulative posts within the past three months.
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- Select Settings and Support.
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The ‘X’ team will review your Twitter Blue-subscribed account and determine whether it meets their rigorous requirements. Verified accounts can fall into various categories including Government, News organizations, Companies, Entertainment, Sports, Activists, and Content creators.
However, some accounts remain ineligible for the blue badge, regardless of meeting the authenticity, notability, and activity criteria. Such ineligible accounts encompass parody, commentary, unofficial fan, pets, and fictional character accounts. Also excluded are accounts engaging in severe violations, promoting harmful content, or selling unauthorized Verification badges.
On a brighter note, verified users can also explore Ads Revenue Sharing, allowing them to earn from organic impressions of ads displayed in replies to their posts. To qualify, follow these steps:
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[Allmedia]
Tensions are escalating between Niger's new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Niger's flailing democracy.
The ECOWAS bloc said on Thursday it had directed a “standby force” to restore constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.
Hours earlier, two Western officials told The Associated Press that Niger’s junta had told a top U.S. diplomat they would kill Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.
It's unclear when or where the force will deploy and which countries from the 15-member bloc would contribute to it. Conflict experts say it would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.
After the ECOWAS meeting, neighboring Ivory Coast’s president, Alassane Ouattara, said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Nigeria and Benin.
“Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements ... We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region,” Ouattara said on state television.
Niger, an impoverished country of some 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in beating back a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that's ravaged the region. France and the United States have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and together with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military.
The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.
On Thursday night after the summit, France's foreign ministry said it supported “all conclusions adopted.” U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country appreciated “the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis” and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the U.S. supported the deployment of troops.
The mutinous soldiers that ousted Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue and have refused to release the president. Representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum's life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
A U.S. official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
“The threat to kill Bazoum is grim,” said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.
Human Rights Watch said Friday that it had spoken to Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor. The president said he hasn't had electricity for nearly 10 days and isn't allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.
It's unclear if the threat on Bazoum's life would change ECOWAS' decision to intervene military. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.
“An ECOWAS invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Niger’s size and population would be unprecedented,” said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for ECOWAS. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.
While the region oscillates between mediation and preparing for war, Nigeriens are suffering the impact of harsh economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.
Before the coup, more than 4 million Nigeriens were reliant on humanitarian assistance and the situation could become more dire, said Louise Aubin, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Niger.
“The situation is alarming. ... We’ll see an exponential rise and more people needing more humanitarian assistance," she said, adding that the closure of land and air borders makes it hard to bring aid into the country and it’s unclear how long the current stock will last.
Aid groups are battling restrictions on multiple fronts.
ECOWAS sanctions have banned the movement of goods between member countries, making it hard to bring in materials. The World Food Program has some 30 trucks stuck at the Benin border unable to cross. Humanitarians are also trying to navigate restrictions within the country as the junta has closed the airspace, making it hard to get clearance to fly the humanitarian planes that transport goods and personnel to hard-hit areas.
Flights are cleared on a case-by-case basis and there’s irregular access to fuel, which disrupts aid operations, Aubin said.
The U.N. has asked ECOWAS to make exceptions to the sanctions and is speaking to Niger’s foreign ministry about doing the same within the country.
[Time.com]
Fraudster carried out one of the biggest scams in history by telling bank he was building an airport
AdminA Nigerian bank director managed to outsmart a major local bank out of a whopping £200 million - just by telling the bank he needed the millions to build an airport.
Emmanuel Nwude is actually the former director of the Union Bank of Nigeria - but he channelled his expertise in a less than ethical way, when he called up a Brazilian bank director on behalf of another huge banking figure.
Nwude called Nelson Sakaguchi, of Brazil's Banco Noroeste - and pretended to be the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Paul Ogwuma when asking for a huge sum to build an airport.
Shockingly, MailOnline learns that this individual phone call was enough to fulfil Mr Nwude's requests, and Sakaguchi put full faith in the Nigerian bank director.
Without completing any background checks, Sakaguchi approved Nwude's demand - but only if he'd get a huge £8m in commission from the new airport - that was never due to be built anyway.
The evil fraudster took full advantage of a Brazilian banker's niceness - without completing any background checks, Sakaguchi approved Nwude's demand - but only if he'd get a huge £8m in commission from the new airport - that was never due to be built anyway
Over a three year period - 1995-1998 - the Brazilian banker paid innocently paid Nwude and his associates a huge sum of approximately £190m - all for the airport that nobody had bothered to check existed.
But one day, in 1997, the Brazilian bank was examining its expenses ahead of being bought by the multinational financial company Santander and noticed that almost half of their money was marinating in the Cayman Islands, a notorious tax haven.
Alarm bells finally started to ring, and Banco Noroeste was let wondering how this all went under the radar.
This instigated legal proceedings which showed that Nwude had in fact defrauded the Brazilian bank of the generous £190m, over the three year period.
Unfortunately, Banco Noroeste was so good-natured that its bank owners ended up paying the costs out of their own pocket, just so Nwude's sale would be successful - before its 2001 collapse.
The airport that was never built... Nwude called Nelson Sakaguchi, of Brazil's Banco Noroeste - and pretended to be the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Paul Ogwuma when asking for a huge sum to build an airport
Nwude and his associates were taken to court years later, in 2004 and they were chucked out and rearrested, before facing charges in another court.
The fraudsters decided to plead not guilty to over a hundred counts of fraud.
Things got even worse when Nwude tried to get himself out of trouble by bribery, paying £60k when one of his accomplices admitting their wrongdoing.
Despite being another large sum, his bribe was refused - and the trial even got Sakaguchi in as a witness for this, scaring the fraudster into confessing to his crimes.
He ended up pleading guilty in a bid to bag a lighter sentence.
Emmanuel Nwude was sentenced to 25 years for fraud - but was released from prison in 2006.
Now this type of scam is affectionately referred to as a 419 scam, and Nwude contributed to one of the biggest financial frauds in history.
[dailymail]
After eight years CBN finally publishes financial statements, says it owes JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs $7.5bn
AdminAfter defaulting for several years, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released the Consolidated Financial Statements for seven years, the first time it will do so since 2015.
he Consolidated Financial Statements, which were released by the CBN on its website, are for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 financial periods.
The apex bank also declared a profit after tax of N103.8bn in 2022, up from N75.13bn reported a year earlier.
The bank also revealed that it owes JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs a combined sum of $7.5bn as of the financial year ended December 2022, and another $6.3 billion included as liabilities owned in foreign currency forwards.
The apex bank, however, stated it owes Goldman Sachs $500 million and JP Morgan $7 billion in what it classified as securities lending.
The 2022 financial statement reads, “The Group entered into a securities lending agreement with Goldman Sachs and J. P. Morgan and as part of the agreement, the Group pledged its holdings on foreign securities in return for cash. The cash received from Goldman Sachs is N0.23tn ($500m), 2021: N0.22tn ($500m), and JP Morgan N3.23tn ($7bn), 2021: N3.05tn ($7bn) is recognised in other foreign securities.”
According to the financial statements, securities lending forms part of the CBN’s total external reserves of about N14.3tn or $29bn using the official exchange rate of N494/$1 as of 2022.
The apex bank, however, also owes another N3.15tn ($6.3bn) in foreign currency forward which are forex obligations it needs to make to foreign investors.
Ripples Nigeria reports that the suspended CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had come under attack for not releasing the financial statements to the public.
The action of Emefiele is in gross violation of the CBN Act.
According to the CBN Act 2007, the apex bank is expected to publish its report within two months after the end of each financial year.
The financial statements uploaded on the CBN website is an indication that the apex bank, under the leadership of acting Governor Folashodun Shonubi, is ready to open its book to public scrutiny.
[RipplesNigeria]