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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’s election runner-up, Atiku Abubakar, files appeal over election challengeF

Posted On 20 September 2023

The runner-up in Nigeria’s presidential election in February on Tuesday filed an appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling rejecting a challenge to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s election victory. Opposition parties had claimed various irregularities, from electoral authorities failing to properly upload results and fraud to Tinubu not meeting constitutional requirements to win the presidency.

According to the appeal notice seen by AFP, Atiku Abubakar, the candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), filed the claim on the basis that the earlier judgment had made “a grave miscarriage of justice”. In one of the country’s most tightly contested elections, Tinubu won with 37 percent of the vote in February, beating Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi to secure the presidency of Africa’s most populous country.

Abubakar said earlier this month that he had instructed his legal team to take the appeal to the Supreme Court, after a five-judge appeals court on Wednesday confirmed Tinubu’s win on September 7. The decision was made after more than 10 hours of hearings broadcast live. The PDP candidate called it “bereft of substantial justice”. The Labour Party’s legal team has also said they planned to file with the Supreme Court.

Since the country’s return to democracy from military rule in 1999, Nigerian elections have often been marred by fraud allegations and usually end up in legal challenges, but the Supreme Court has never overturned a presidential election.

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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