Mauritania’s high-profile corruption trial of former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has sparked a bigger conversation across West Africa, as his 15-year prison sentence has drawn widespread attention—not just for the verdict itself, but for what it reveals about how justice works in Mauritania.

Guinea’s junta has launched a sweeping crackdown on mining permits, abruptly revoking over 100 licenses for bauxite, gold, iron ore, and diamond projects in a bold move to “clean up” the sector. The decision targets firms accused of hoarding land without development or violating Guinea’s mining code.

West Africa’s economic grouping, ECOWAS, faces a new crisis as former chairman and Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo refuses to step down despite his mandate ending on February 27, 2025.  Embalo, who once criticized Sahelian coup leaders on behalf of ECOWAS, now defies the organization, even expelling its mediation delegation.

Al-Qaeda’s Sahel branch (GSIM) is now emerging as the region’s dominant jihadist force. Even the brutal Islamic State has been largely unable to contain SGIM’s expansion, which has been expanding its control across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.