Metro

Ten civilians killed by rebels in Central African Republic – UN

Published

2 years ago

May 15, 2022

The United Nations has reported the killing of 10 civilians by rebels in an attack on Friday in the northeast of the Central African Republic capital of Bangui.

The spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping force in the country, Lieutenant Colonel Abdoul Aziz Ouedraogo, who confirmed the attack in a statement, said the perpetrators of the attack were fighters belonging to the Union for Peace in Central Africa (UPC).

“Armed elements of the Union for Peace in Central Africa (UPC) have committed abuses on populations, killing 10 people in the village of Bokolobo.

“In response to these atrocities, the force immediately deployed Mauritanian blue helmets to protect the populations,” said Ouedraogo.

He added that the rebels had previously attacked security force positions but were repelled.

However, a statement released also on Friday by the military leader of the UPC, Ali Darassa, condemned a massacre in the same village where he claimed “30 civilians of the Muslim faith, including 27 Fulanis were slaughtered by Russian mercenaries from the Wagner company, the FACA and the anti-balaka militia of the Touadera wing.”

The Central African Republic has been the scene of a civil war since 2013, culminating in the 2020 alliance of several rebel groups including the UPC and the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC), to attempt the overthrow of President Faustin Archange Touadera.

But the groups later fell apart and by the end of 2020, the most powerful of the many armed groups that then shared two-thirds of the territory had launched an offensive on Bangui, forcing Touadera to seek help from Moscow for his impoverished army.

Hundreds of Russian paramilitaries then joined hundreds present on ground and in a few months, pushed back rebels from a large part of the territories and cities they controlled but were unable to re-establish the authority of the state everywhere where some rebel forces are now holding sway.

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Metro

All my tough policy decisions are in Nigerians’ interest— Tinubu

Published

3 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has insisted that all his tough policy decisions and reforms have been taken with the interest of Nigerians at heart.

Tinubu, who made the assertion in Hague, The Netherlands, during the business session of the bilateral meeting with the Dutch team led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, insisted that though some of the policies had brought hardship on Nigerian masses, he was not afraid to implement more of such policies as they would yield positive results in the end.

“I am a determined leader of my people. I am ever ready to take tough decisions in the best interest of the people, even if with initial pains,” Tinubu said.

“I have and will continue to take the difficult decisions that will benefit our people, even if there is short-term pain.

“We have gone through the worst of the storms. I am unafraid of the consequences once I know that my actions are in the best long-term interests of all Nigerians.

“The Nigerian naira is one of the world’s best-performing currencies today.

“We took the necessary risk, and all resilient Nigerians kept faith with us.

“They will be rewarded, and the reward will only be greater as we partner effectively with you on new opportunities for development.

“As leaders, we must make decisions for the benefit of our nations, and we cannot shy away from that.”

The President also noted that symbiotic economic ties remain the best long-term path to sustainable and mutual prosperity rather than one-sided relationships in which bilateral trade is skewed too much in one direction.

Metro

Nigeria govt cancels 924 dormant mining licences

Published

4 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s minister of mines said on Wednesday that 924 expired mining licences had been cancelled immediately.

The country now wants investors to apply for the affected permits, which will be given out on a “first come, first served” basis.

In a statement, Mines Minister Dele Alake said that 528 exploration licenses, 20 mining leases, 101 quarry licenses, and 273 small-scale mining licenses would be impacted.

As part of major changes in the mining industry, more than 1,600 mining titles were taken away in November for not paying the required fees.

Alake said that the action was taken to stop “licence racketeering,” which is when people or businesses buy titles to minerals that are worth a lot of money and then sell the licenses to the highest price.

“By creating a secondary, black market to pawn mineral licences, the unsuspecting and unwary investor is misled into believing that he can only obtain licence by patronising the black market. This discourages investment,” Alake said.

“It is our belief that this decision will sanitise the licensing system by penalising those who have commercialized the opportunities offered by the sector into a bazaar, he added.

Nigeria wants to attract investors to a mining industry that hasn’t been developed much in the past. To do this, they are giving incentives like not having to pay taxes on profits and sending them back to Nigeria in full.

Nigeria has had trouble getting value from its huge mineral riches because it didn’t invest in or take care of them.

After making it harder for foreign companies to get mining licenses last year, Africa’s biggest oil provider will only give them to companies that process their minerals in the country itself. The country is also rich in lithium, gold, and limestone.