Author: Richard Cudjoe

ABUJA, Nigeria Armed attackers killed at least six people Sunday in northern Nigeria’s Niger state. Wasiu Abiodun, a spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, said around 200 armed individuals carried out attacks on villages in the Borgu area. Abiodun said six people were killed, many others were injured or abducted, and a police station and several homes were set on fire during the incidents. Some local media reports claimed that 32 people lost their lives in the attacks. Nigeria continues to face attacks from armed gangs in various regions as well as from the terrorist groups Boko Haram and…

Senior Egyptian officials have been flocking to eastern Libya, the stronghold of the Libyan National Army (LNA), in what observers have said was increasing alarm in Cairo over the LNA’s support to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The officials have sought to persuade LNA commander Khalifa Haftar to end support to the RSF, which is pitted against the Sudanese army in a civil war that erupted in April 2023 over a power struggle during the country’s transition to democratic rule. Egypt is concerned that the fallout of the conflict in Sudan will impact its own national security. Egyptian intelligence…

The Danish government is strengthening its military. Partially fueled by uncertainty about its relationship with the United States, Denmark is increasing the length of mandatory military service from four months to 11 months. The country is also ending a rule that allowed women to opt out of serving. These changes are part of a wider shift across Europe as security concerns grow. Croatia brought back mandatory military service this January, for instance. And in Germany, the debate has been heated. For now, service remains voluntary, but if quotas aren’t met, parliament could activate compulsory conscription. In Denmark, Deutsche Welle, DW’s,…

Nigerian security forces have killed several terrorists while repelling attacks on Pulka and Mandaragirau in Borno State. Troops of Operation Hadin Kai, a joint task force, fought off the terrorists late on Saturday after the insurgents suspected to be members of Boko Haram or the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attempted to overrun defensive positions in the two locations. In Pulka, insurgents advancing from the Sambisa Forest axis launched what the military described as a fierce assault on troops of Sector 1. Although a section of the perimeter was briefly breached, reinforcements from 26 Brigade responded with heavy firepower,…

Visit follows restoration of diplomatic representation after more than 10 months of strain between Algiers and Niamey Niger’s President Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani arrived in Algeria on Sunday for an official working visit, holding talks with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in a move seen as signaling an end to more than 10 months of diplomatic tension between the two countries. Algeria’s presidency said in a brief statement on the US social media company Facebook that Tebboune received Tiani, who is leading a high-level delegation, without providing further details. State television reported that Tebboune welcomed his Nigerien counterpart at Houari Boumediene International…

Aside from freezing their assets, the US has also barred all US persons and entities from transacting with the named individuals. The US government has frozen the assets of eight Nigerians for alleged links to terrorist organisations and cybercrime. This action was taken through the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and appears on a 3,000-page sanctions list that includes individuals from other countries. FIRST BANK AD Do you live in OgijoAccording to the document, the affected Nigerians have been linked to terrorist organisations that threaten global security, such as Boko Haram, the Islamic State of Iraq…

The Oyo State Police command on Monday foiled a deadly bandit attack at Elebe Village, Aleniboro, via Irawo Mine in Atisbo Local Government Area of the state and neutralised two members of the group. A statement released by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, in Ibadan, the state capital, said the breakthrough followed credible information provided by a good Samaritan at the station, alerting security operatives to the presence of about 10 armed Fulani men who had concealed themselves at a farm settlement within Elebe Village with plans to attack the community under the cover of darkness. PUNCH…

President John Dramani Mahama has renewed calls for the immediate establishment of a Pan-African payment and settlement system, warning that Africa cannot achieve true economic integration while relying on third-party currencies for intra-continental trade. Speaking at the “Accra Reset’s Addis Reckoning” forum on the sidelines of the 39th Assembly of the African Union on Sunday, February 15, President Mahama emphasized that currency conversion requirements remain a major obstacle to boosting trade within Africa. Referencing concerns raised by Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, the President questioned the logic of current payment systems on the continent. “The…

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to help the police fight criminal gangs and illegal mining in the country. Gang violence is a major problem in South Africa, which has one of the world’s highest murder rates. “Organised crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development,” Ramaphosa said in his annual State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday. “I will be deploying the South African National Defence Force to support the police,” he added. Last month, Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said the country’s police were not…

Mcebisi Jonas, special envoy to President Cyril Ramaphosa, has urged South Africa to deepen its participation in trade with the EU and Global South platforms to launch the economy to new levels of growth as global trade fragmentation continues. “We have to ensure we diversify our economy in ways that we have never thought about. Second, my view is we have to reduce the cost of doing business in South Africa so that we can better participate in the rising competition. But I was actually talking about forming new strategic partnerships, using our participation in Brics and in other areas.”…