Metro

Burkina Faso: Another jihadist attack kills 5 in military detachment

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2022

The army in Burkina Faso have confirmed that five civilians were killed Sunday in an attack by suspected jihadists on a military detachment in Barsalogho, northern Burkina Faso.

The army in a statement said the terrorist struck on Sunday morning in a twin attack on a military base and another on civilians.

“On Sunday morning, fighting broke out between elements of the military detachment in Barsalogho”, in the north-central region, “and an armed terrorist group that had come to attack the detachment’s hold. At the same time, another group of terrorists targeted civilians,” the statement said.

Casualties from the attack were said to be “five civilians, including a child”, killed, as well as “eight wounded soldiers who were evacuated and treated.”

The Burkinabe army revealed that air and ground operations were immediately launched to track down the attackers, “and several air strikes were carried out on groups that were trying to retreat to a terrorist base located in Bangmiougou, near Barsalogho.”

Terrorist activity in Burkina Faso has involved religious terrorism conducted by foreign-based organizations, although some activity occurs because of communal frustration over the lack of economic development.

Recent attacks are concentrated in the Hauts-Bassins, Boucle du Mouhoun, Nord, Sahel, and East regions, along the border with Mali and Niger.

Although fighting insurgency was one of the reasons for the last coup in the West African country, Burkina Faso however remains in the eye of the storm with continuous terrorist attacks.

Metro

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

Published

13 mins 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

2 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.