Connect with us

Musings From Abroad

ISIS making Nigeria fertile ground for training of jihadists

Battle-hardened jihadists from Syria may be sneaking into Nigeria to train terrorists for possible attacks in Britain, The Sun UK claims

Published

on

Battle-hardened jihadists from Syria may be sneaking into Nigeria to train terrorists for possible attacks in Britain, The Sun UK claims.

The report also alleges that fanatics, including Boko Haram insurgents, were also being sent to the Middle East for training in a chilling “exchange programme.”

The paper said there were fears that strong links between Nigeria and the UK would make it easier for IS to send its killers to Britain to orchestrate terror attacks, death and destruction.

It noted that more than 150 British troops are conducting counter-terror training with Nigerian forces in an attempt to stem the bloody tide — and stop IS from taking hold in the West African region.

At one training mission in Kaduna, a senior Nigerian Air Force commander revealed how local jihadi groups were learning from IS after swearing allegiance to its black flag.

Group Captain Isaac Subi, 46, who has been fighting terrorism across Africa since 1991, said, “They come and train their fighters here and some of our insurgents too are granted access to their training in Yemen and Syria, acquiring those skills and they come back and teach others.

“They have this exchange programme of fighters.”

The report stated that the poisonous influence of the fighters had already ended in horror attacks on British streets, citing the stabbing to death of Fusilier Lee Rigby in 2013 in London by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, both of Nigerian descent.

The Nigeria Immigration Service spokesman, Sunday James, said the agency has strengthened border security to ensure that “no foreign entity is allowed by whatever means into the country by land, air or waterways.”

He added in a statement that NIS operatives have been proactive, “going by the several arrests in recent past around the country by the Special Border Patrol Corps operatives of the NIS trained and deployed to carry out reconnaissance patrol.”

Musings From Abroad

UN head slams Sudan’s RSF as Britain seeks Security Council action

Published

on

 

While Britain announced it would work for a United Nations Security Council resolution on the conflict, which has been going on for more than 18 months, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has denounced reported attacks on civilians by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Friday.

The world’s largest relocation crisis began in mid-April 2023 when the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces engaged in a power battle ahead of a scheduled handover to civilian administration.

The RSF is mostly to blame for the waves of ethnically motivated violence that have resulted from the current conflict.
According to activists, the RSF massacred at least 124 people in a village in El Gezira State last month, making it one of the bloodiest occurrences of the conflict.

The army is allegedly arming citizens in Gezira, according to the RSF. In the past, the RSF has denied causing harm to civilians in Sudan and blamed renegade actors for the action.

“Reports of large numbers of civilians being killed, detained and displaced, acts of sexual violence against women and girls, the looting of homes and markets and the burning of farms,” a U.N. spokesperson said, horrifying Guterres.

“Such acts may constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law. Perpetrators of such serious violations must be held accountable,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

According to Britain, which took over as the Security Council’s November presidency on Friday, the 15-member council will convene on Sudan on November 12 to talk about “scaling up aid delivery and ensuring greater protection of civilians by all sides.”

“We will be shortly introducing a draft Security Council resolution … to drive forward progress on this,” Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward told a press conference.

She stated that the draft would concentrate on “developing a compliance mechanism for the warring parties commitments they made on the protection of civilians in Jeddah over a year ago in 2023 and ways to support mediation efforts to deliver a ceasefire, even if we start local ceasefires before moving to a national one.”

For a resolution to be enacted, it must have at least nine votes and not be vetoed by the United States, France, Britain, Russia, or China.

The action was taken because the U.N. and aid organisations’ three-month permission from Sudanese authorities to utilise the Adre border crossing with Chad to provide humanitarian aid to Darfur is about to expire in mid-November.

Sudan’s U.N. Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed stated on Monday that the army-backed administration is dedicated to enabling humanitarian supplies throughout the nation, even in areas under RSF control.

Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, stated on Monday that it would be “inappropriate to put pressure on” the Sudanese administration to decide whether the Adre crossing would be open past mid-November.

“We’re categorically opposed to the politicization of humanitarian assistance,” he said. “We believe that any humanitarian assistance should be conducted and delivered solely with the central authorities in the loop.”

 

Continue Reading

Musings From Abroad

Ivory Coast’s Ouattara becomes IMF executive board member

Published

on

Wautabouna Ouattara of Ivory Coast has been appointed as the third director for Sub-Saharan Africa on the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which strengthens the region’s influence in policy-making by serving as the lender of last resort.

There are now 25 members of the executive board, which is in charge of the fund’s daily operations, thanks to the new role.

“The addition of a third African chair to our Board reflects the continent’s tremendous progress in developing its human and economic potential,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement on Friday.

After an election, an additional regional representative was formally appointed to the board, according to the IMF. It is its first expansion since 1992 when the Soviet bloc broke up and two postings were established for the former Soviet Union nations.

Despite having 18% of the world’s population, Africa’s 54 nations—the largest bloc in terms of number among the IMF’s 191 members—only have 6.5% of voting rights. About half of that comes from Sub-Saharan Africa’s vote portion.

A year ago, in Marrakech, Morocco, the new position for the area on the board was unveiled. However, detractors claim that, while the region struggles with debt, it does not adequately meet its requirements.

As nations like Zambia and Ghana restructured their loans and others, like Kenya, looked to the Fund for greater liquidity support because of rising debt interest obligations, the IMF has been playing an increasingly important role in the management of economies in Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years.

Continue Reading

EDITOR’S PICK

Sports10 hours ago

Chepkirui leads Kenya to podium sweep at New York City Marathon

Kenya had a clean sweep of the podium at the 2024 New York City Marathon on Sunday as Sheila Chepkirui...

Tech10 hours ago

AfriLabs to host ‘Annual Gathering’ in Cape Town

Pan-African innovation hub, AfriLabs, has announced Cape Town, South Africa, as the host of its “Annual Gathering” scheduled to hold...

Metro10 hours ago

Zambia: President Hichilema urges traditional leaders to invoke rainmaking powers amid drought

Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema, has called on traditional leaders to call upon their rainmaking powers by praying for rain as...

VenturesNow14 hours ago

South Africa: Petrol, diesel prices to rise on Wednesday. Here’s why

Following an increase in the price of oil due to the crisis between Iran and Israel, petrol and diesel prices...

Metro17 hours ago

Tiinubu committed to easing hardship Nigerians are going through— Info Min, Idris

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has, once again, reiterated President Bola Tinubu’s dedication and commitment to...

Culture1 day ago

Ghanaians react angrily as American video vixen Rubi Rose tours Jubilee House

Some Ghanaians have been outraged following a tour of the Jubilee House, the country’s seat of government, by American entertainer...

Metro2 days ago

Zambia, Japan celebrate 60 years of bilateral relationship

Zambia and Japan, during the weekend, celebrated 60 years of bilateral relationship on the occasion of the African country’s 60th...

Tech2 days ago

Young African tech-preneurs invited to apply for 2025 Anzisha Prize

Young tech-preneurs in Africa have been extended an invitation to apply for the 2025 edition of the Anzisha Prize, which...

Sports2 days ago

Reports say Libyan authorities have begun mass arrest of Nigerians following CAF verdict

Reports making the rounds say Libyan authorities have embarked on a mass arrest of Nigerians living in that country following...

Metro2 days ago

Nigeria: Human Rights Commission records 3,099 cases of child marriages in three months

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) says it has recorded no fewer than 3,099 cases of child marriage in Nigeria...

Trending