Nigerian Defence chief, Gen. Christopher Musa (L) seated with the Nigerien Defence chief, Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou (R) There were signs of improved relations between Nigeria and Niger as the chiefs of staff of both countries met In a symbolic meeting. General Moussa Salaou Barmou, Chief of Staff of the Niger Armed Forces, welcomed his…
The recent arrests of two popular investigative journalists in Nigeria has caused an outcry among Nigerians and within journalism circles over what appears to be a crackdown on free speech by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government, fuelling fears of a return to a dark chapter in the country’s history regarding its press freedom records. On…
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Announcement of new appointments to Nigeria’s top intelligence agencies by the country’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have raised hopes amongst stakeholders of a determined push to address troubling levels of insecurity in the country. It has also raised questions about the timing and reasons for the changes. The appointments were announced…
Col. Assimi Goita. Head of the Malian military junta. Since Mali’s military government announced in January the end of the 2015 Algiers agreement signed with the Tuareg separatist rebels, several political and security analysts have expressed contradicting opinions on the implication of the decision. One opinion that is clearly critical of the decision by Mali…
A large crowd marched through the streets of Ouagadougou, the Burkinabè capital, to protest against demands by the country’s judicial officers for the government to pay damages for ordering that two of their members take part in the mandatory military service decreed by the government. The words, “Wayiyan”, or “Come out” in Mooré, the most…
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have petitioned the president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday, August 20, to denounce the Ukrainian government’s “open and assumed support for international terrorism” particularly in Africa’s Sahel region. The move follows recent comments by Ukrainian officials suggesting that Kyiv had played a role in attacks by…
Gambia’s President Adama Barrow. Photo credit: Chatham House. Following the recent announcement by the Gambian government that it had reviewed and re-gazetted the country’s 2020 draft constitution that had been rejected by parliament, one of the country’s opposition parties, the Gambia For All (GFA) party, has called out the Economic Community of West African States…
Burkina Faso has announced the establishment of the National Commission of the Confederation of Sahel States (CN-AES), a new national body for coordinating and monitoring the activities of the AES, at its council of ministers. The National Commission is placed under the authority of the President of Burkina Faso, Capt. Ibrahim Traore. According to the…
Gambian president, Adama Barrow. Photographer: Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Betty Images. The Gambian government reports that it has carried out a review of the draft constitution that was presented by the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) on March 30, 2020 and has decided, after a thorough deliberation, to re-gazette the Constitution for eventual tabling before the National…
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on Wednesday evening in Malabo signed an agreement on Gulf of Guinea Pipeline Project, further strengthening development partnership between their two states. The agreement was signed on the first day of a three-day official visit by the Nigerian president to Equatorial Guinea. Tinubu’s…
