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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: Four kidnapped Chinese workers regain their freedomF

Posted On 22 June 2021

Four Chinese rail workers kidnapped last week in southwest Nigeria have been released, police said Tuesday. The four were abducted on Wednesday from a rail construction site at Alaagba village in Ogun state by unknown gunmen who also killed their police escort. The Chinese were working on a $2.5 billion, 157-kilometre (98-mile) standard gauge project between Lagos and Ibadan commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari two weeks ago “The four Chinese nationals were released yesterday,” a senior police officer in Ogun state told AFP, without giving details. He did not say if a ransom was paid. Local media reported that an undisclosed amount of money was paid for the release. State police spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi was not immediately available for comment.

Chinese firms are working in Nigeria on multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects that include mining, railways, airports and roads. Kidnapping for ransom used to be concentrated in Nigeria’s oil-producing southern region, but the crime has lately spread to other parts of the country. Victims are usually released after a ransom is paid although police rarely confirm if money changes hands. In April, two Chinese workers were abducted and their private security guards shot at a mining site in southwest Osun state. They were released four days later.

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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