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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...

Nigeria: Boat capsizes near Shagari, kills at least 13F

Posted On 6 June 2021

Thirteen people died in northwest Nigeria‘s Sokoto state when a boat ferrying wedding guests capsized, officials said, a week after 150 people went missing in another boat accident.  The boat was conveying 18 people returning from a wedding in Shagari district when it overturned on Friday. “Thirteen people travelling from Dorowa to Ginga village died in the boat mishap,” Sokoto state government spokesman Muhammad Bello said. The passengers were all members of the same family heading home after attending the wedding ceremony, local lawmaker Maidawa Kajiji said. “It was a small boat loaded with 18 passengers but only five survived and were rescued,” Kajiji said.

Overcrowding, weather and lack of maintenance contribute to frequent river boat tragedies on Nigerian waterways. Scores of traders drowned when their overloaded boat split and sank on the Niger River in neighbouring Kebbi state last week. The boat was ferrying 180 passengers but only 20 survived. Rescuers recovered 96 bodies after days of searching before the operation was called off.

The National Inland Waterways Authority has banned night-time sailing on the rivers to stop accidents and says overloading ships is a criminal offence, but skippers and crews often ignore the regulations.

AFP

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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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