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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...

Doctors in Nigeria halt their strike as Covid-19 cases increaseF

Posted On 21 June 2020

Lagos, June 21, 2020 – Nigerian doctors in state-run hospitals on Sunday called off a week-long strike over welfare and inadequate protective equipment as new coronavirus cases spike in the country. The strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which represents some 40 percent of Nigeria’s doctors, began last Monday but had exempted medics treating coronavirus patients.

The group’s directors decided to suspend the strike action from Monday June 22 by 8 am, the association said in a statement. NARD said the decision, which followed the intervention state governors and others, was to give the government time to fulfill the outstanding demands. The organisation had called the strike over a range of issues, including the “grossly inadequate” provision of protective equipment and calls for hazard pay for those working on the virus. Other demands focused on improving general welfare and protesting dismissals or pay cuts for doctors in two regions. Strikes by medics are common in Nigeria, where the health sector has been underfunded for years.

The authorities fear that any reduction in capacity could severely hamper its ability to tackle the pandemic as the number of cases continues to rise. The main nationwide doctors union briefly staged a warning strike in commercial hub Lagos over police harassment of its members. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation of 200 million inhabitants, has recorded nearly 20,000 cases and 506 deaths since the first index case of the virus in February. More than 800 health workers have been infected by the virus, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

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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