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Nigeria: Questions Mount Over U.S. Airstrikes in Northern Nigeria$

By Leslie Varenne, MondAfrique: The American strikes carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day raise serious questions. Beyond the confusion surrounding the objectives of the operation, inconsistencies in official statements, and the unclear nature of the targets, the...

Nigeria grapples with end of fuel subsidyF

By Alexandre Martins Lopes: Nigerians are struggling with surging fuel prices after newly elected President Bola Tinubu declared an end to popular subsidies, a move analysts and experts said was long overdue. On his first day in office, Tinubu kept to his campaign...

Growing pressure on army Chief of Staff Tukur Buratai to resignF

Posted On 21 July 2020

Abuja, July 21, 2020 – Nigerian senators on Tuesday passed a resolution demanding military chiefs resign for failing to stem widespread insecurity. Africa’s most populous nation is struggling with a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the northeast and bloody attacks by armed gangs in the northwest.  “The Senate has called on the Service Chiefs to step aside over the deteriorating security situation in the country,” the senate president’s office said in a statement.

The military top brass has faced widespread criticism over the bloodshed despite claims the armed forces are bringing the situation under control. President Muhammadu Buhari has stuck by Chief of Staff Tukur Buratai in the face of repeated demands for him to go.

Buhari’s office insisted that sacking the military bosses remained a “presidential prerogative” and the leader “will do what is in the best interest of the country at all times”. Nigeria’s army has also sustained heavy losses. Earlier this month jihadist fighters linked to the so-called Islamic State group killed dozens of troops in the northeast of the country, while on Saturday at least 23 soldiers were killed in an ambush by armed criminals in Katsina state, in the northwest.

The insurgency launched by Boko Haram jihadists 10 years ago in northeast Nigeria has killed 36,000 people and forced around two million from their homes.

AFP

Recent News from Nigeria

Nigeria Adjusts Airstrike Strategy Under Expanded U.S. Security Cooperation$

Nigeria is modifying how it conducts air operations against armed groups under a revised security arrangement with the United States. The new framework places greater emphasis on U.S. intelligence and reconnaissance support while shifting operational responsibility to Nigerian forces. The approach reflects Abuja’s effort to balance external assistance with domestic control amid ongoing security challenges in the country’s northwest.

Nigeria: Questions Mount Over U.S. Airstrikes in Northern Nigeria$

The U.S. airstrikes carried out in northern Nigeria on Christmas Day have triggered confusion and skepticism across the region. Conflicting statements from Washington and Abuja, uncertainty over the identity of the targeted groups, and reports from strike locations where no militants were found have raised serious questions about the operation’s objectives. In an already fragile security environment, the lack of clarity risks adding instability rather than addressing Nigeria’s complex security challenges.

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