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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: Adamawa state imposes curfew to curtail lootingF

Posted On 30 July 2023

Authorities in Nigeria’s northeastern Adamawa state on Sunday imposed a statewide round-the-clock curfew to stop widespread looting of food stores in the state capital Yola. The looting saw hundreds of residents break into public and private warehouses toring grains and other commodities and cart them away. “The Governor of Adamawa State… Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has declared a 24-hour curfew on the state, effective immediately Sunday 30th July, 2023,” Humwashi Wonosikou, the governor’s spokesman, said in a statement. Yahaya Nguroje, Adamawa state police spokesman, said security personnel had been deployed to enforce the curfew.

Last month Nigeria — the most populous country in Africa and the continent’s largest economy — ended a fuel subsidy regime, leading to petrol prices quadrupling and food prices soaring. Nigeria’s economy has been weakened by recession and the fallout from Covid-19, making life hard for its 215 million citizens — nearly half of whom live on less than $2 a day.

Online video footage shows residents of Yola looting sacks of grain, cartons of pasta and other household items from a warehouse of Nigeria’s emergency management agency (NEMA). The plunder prompted NEMA to put its warehouses across Nigeria on alert to forestall possible looting, according to agency sources. Earlier this year the United Nations predicted that more than 25 million Nigerians would be a “high risk” of food insecurity in 2023.

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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