Experts say the decline in Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserve levels was expected as Nigeria’s import consumption far outweighs its production and exports.
Monday, July 10, 2023
Video - Forex reserves drop by $2.9 billion in first half of 2023 in Nigeria
Video - Nigeria confirms diphtheria outbreak
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) confirmed 798 cases of diphtheria in Nigeria since December 2022.
President Bola Tinubu elected chairman of ECOWAS
Speaking at a summit in Bissau after being named chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Tinubu said democracy was "the best form of government", despite being "very tough to manage".
"We need it, to be an example to the rest of Africa and the world," he said. "We will not allow coup after coup in West Africa."
Three ECOWAS members – Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso – have undergone five putsches since 2020.
Omar Alieu Touray, president of the ECOWAS commission, urged those countries' ruling juntas to respect agreed-upon deadlines to hand power to civilian leaders.
"In the event of a failure to meet the transition deadlines, major sanctions could be imposed," he said.
The West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) on Saturday agreed to lift a suspension of Mali imposed in January 2022 over the military's timeline for returning to civilian rule.
ECOWAS had also imposed a range of measures against the Sahel state, but lifted them in July 2022 after the junta agreed to a March 2024 transition.
On Sunday, Touray said ECOWAS had set up a commission to examine security options in Mali as the UN winds down its decade-long peacekeeping mission there.
"This commission has 90 days to reflect and make proposals," he said.
Mali has since 2012 been battling a jihadist insurgency that has since spread to Burkina Faso and Niger.
Tinubu – who was in May sworn in as president of Africa's largest economy – said ECOWAS members would pursue "inclusive" economic integration in the year ahead.
"We should serve a warning to exploiters that our people have suffered enough," he said on Sunday.
"I am with you – and Nigeria, we are back."
Court in Nigeria tells government to account for recovered Abacha loot
A Nigerian court has directed President Bola Tinubu's government to disclose how much in stolen funds it has recovered from late military ruler Sani Abacha and how the money was used, court documents showed on Sunday.
Abacha ruled Africa's most populous nation and top oil exporter from 1993 until his death in 1998, during which time Transparency International estimated that he took up to $5 billion of public money. He was never charged.
A Nigerian rights group asked the High Court in the federal capital Abuja to force the government to account for Abacha's loot since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999.
Over the years, the United States, Switzerland and British dependency of Jersey are among those who have returned hundreds of millions of dollars linked to Abacha.
The court ruled that the government should disclose the "exact amount of money stolen by General Sani Abacha from Nigeria and the total amount of Abacha loot recovered and all agreements signed on same since the return of democracy in 1999 till date."
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which brought the challenge, said it had on Sunday written to Tinubu calling on him to obey the ruling.
Tinubu's spokesman Dele Alake did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment.
Nigeria has previously said it would use some of the Abacha funds for infrastructure projects, including roads and bridges.
By Camillus Eboh, Reuters
Related stories: Liechtenstein returning loot from dead Nigerian President Sani Abacha worth €167m
Attack by Gunmen on Village leaves 24 villagers dead in Nigeria
Gunmen killed 24 villagers in a remote part of north-central Nigeria, authorities said on Sunday, raising further concerns about the West African nation’s ongoing security challenges.
The gunmen arrived at the Akpuuna village in Benue state’s Ukum district on Saturday, shooting dead the villagers before escaping the area, according to Tersoo Kula, the spokesman for Benue state's governor.
Police blamed the attack on a “militia gang,” a common reference to armed groups in Nigeria’s hard-hit northwest and central regions where armed violence has claimed the lives of thousands in the last year.
Catherine Anene, police spokeswoman in Benue, said eight bodies were retrieved from the scene. Local officials, including legislator Ezra Nyiyongo, said there were at least 24 killed and several others injured.
“I lack words to express my shock and sympathy to the families of the lost ones,” said Nyiyongo as he published the names of those killed.
Benue Gov. Hyacinth Iormem Alia said the attack was unprovoked and directed security agents to hunt for the suspects, his spokesman Kula said.
“Government will do everything possible to put measures in place to checkmate these things and forestall a re-occurrence,” Kalu said.
Such attacks are common in many parts of Nigeria’s northern region where local herdsmen have clashed in the past with farmers over limited access to land and water. More than 100 people have been killed this year in the violence in Benue alone. Arrests are rare after the killings.
The gunmen in the latest incident operated for more than two hours without the intervention of security forces, according to Emmanuel Udende, who represents the village at the Nigerian Senate. His comment re-echoed concerns about the security of villagers in many violent hotspots where the Nigerian security forces are far outnumbered and outgunned.
By Chinedu Asadu, AP
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