20 new charges filed against suspended central bank chief of Nigeria

Nigerian prosecutors have filed a 20-count indictment against suspended and detained central bank governor Godwin Emefiele on Tuesday, one of them accusing him of “conferring unlawful advantages”, a government lawyer says.

President Bola Tinubu, who has embarked on the boldest reforms in Africa’s biggest economy in more than a decade, has launched a probe of the central bank under Emefiele after criticising its policies at his inauguration in May, especially moves to prop up the naira currency.

It was not immediately clear what the new charges were. But court documents submitted by the Attorney General’s Office last month showed that Emefiele faced criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation of funds charges, among others, which carry long jail terms.

Emefiele, who made an unprecedented run for the Nigerian presidency last year, was suspended by Tinubu on June 9 and has been held in detention by the secret police since June 10.

The suspended bank chief pleaded not guilty to a charge of possessing a firearm. A judge granted him bail following his plea on July 25 but he was immediately rearrested.

“We have filed a matter with comprehensive charges” and “we are withdrawing the [firearm] case at the Federal High Court in Lagos,” a government lawyer told the Reuters news agency.

Emefiele has challenged his detention and filed an application for bail but has not publicly commented on the accusations.

He introduced a multiple exchange rate policy to keep the currency artificially strong, which Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu’s predecessor, had viewed as a matter of national pride.

Appointed by Buhari for a second five-year term in 2019, Emefiele was due to retire next year. He was the second-longest-serving governor of the central bank and oversaw the biggest economic downturn of Africa’s largest economy.

Al Jazeera

Related stories: Suspended Nigeria central bank governor Godwin Emefiele charged

Former Central Bank Chief of Nigeria charged with Illegal Firearm Possession

Eurobonds drop from Nigeria as government says no need for petrol price rise

Nigeria's international dollar-denominated bonds fell on Wednesday, after the president's spokesman said petrol prices did not need to rise more, and blamed foreign exchange shortages on "gross mismanagement" at the central bank.

The 2051 maturity dropped as much as 1.7 cents on the dollar to 68.894 cents, its lowest since June 2, before recovering to trade 0.57 cents lower at 1045 GMT.

President Bola Tinubu axed a popular but costly petrol subsidy after coming to power in late May and soon after devalued the naira currency, both of which were long demanded by investors, driving a rally in Nigeria's overseas bonds that peaked at the beginning of August.

Nigeria, reliant on fuel imports, is still suffering dollar shortages and petrol retailers have called for further price increases due to the weakening of the exchange rate making fuel more expensive to import.

"The slowdown to the pace of reform in Nigeria, and the potential for even the reversal of some reforming steps already taken, in combination with data released by the central bank, has weighed on investor sentiment, causing a reversal of some of the outperformance of Nigerian eurobonds against its peers," said Yvette Babb, an emerging market fixed income investor at William Blair.

The scrapping of the fuel subsidy saw petrol prices more than triple and pushed already double-digit inflation to an 18-year high in July, data showed on Tuesday.

Tinubu rejects further petrol price increases, his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, told reporters, adding that Nigeria did not need an "upward movement of pump price in order to accommodate the market-driven reality".

The decision is disappointing for investors, Carlos de Sousa, an emerging market debt portfolio manager at Vontobel, told Reuters.

"President Tinubu hit the ground running since day one of his presidency in terms of progressing fast with reforms, and now it seems like further progress will be more gradual."

The fuel subsidies had been widely criticised for eroding the government's finances and ability to service debt, Ayodeji Dawodu of investment bank BancTrust said in an emailed note.

"The presidency may be bowing down to pressures from labour unions and manufacturers," he added.


Tinubu launched an investigation into the central bank under suspended and detained governor Godwin Emefiele after criticising its policies at his inauguration in May, especially steps to prop up the naira.

Authorities are now seeking ways to stem the fall of the currency, which has hit record lows on the black market.

Acting central bank governor Folashodun Shonubi met Tinubu on Monday to discuss ways to improve liquidity after the bank revealed it had a $19-billion derivatives commitment as of 2022.

By Rachel Savage and Jorgelina Do Rosario, Reuters

Niger junta is open to diplomacy according to Nigerian delegation

Coup leaders in Niger are open to diplomacy to resolve a standoff with West Africa's regional bloc, a group of senior Nigerian Islamic scholars said on Sunday after meeting the junta in Niamey.

Their visit comes as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) explores its options to restore civilian rule in Niger, including potential military intervention, following the July 26 ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum - the seventh coup in West and Central Africa in three years.

In a sign the bloc is still pushing for a peaceful resolution, ECOWAS chairman and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu approved Saturday's mission to Niamey by the delegation of Islamic scholars, who had vowed to promote dialogue.

The group's meeting with junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani lasted several hours, said Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, who led the delegation.

"He said their doors were open to explore diplomacy and peace in resolving the matter," Lau said in a statement on Sunday.

Tiani reportedly emphasised the historic ties between Niger and Nigeria, saying the countries "were not only neighbours but brothers and sisters who should resolve issues amicably".

There was no immediate comment from the junta on the meeting, but Tiani's reported comments are one of few recent signs he is open to negotiation.

The coup leaders' previous rebuffs of diplomatic efforts by ECOWAS, the United States and others had raised the spectre of further conflict in the impoverished Sahel region of West Africa, which is already dealing with a deadly Islamist insurgency.

With diplomacy faltering last week, ECOWAS activated a standby military force it said would be deployed as a last resort if talks failed.

For now, the bloc is pursuing efforts for further negotiations. On Saturday, the bloc's parliament said it would ask Tinubu, who holds the bloc's revolving chairmanship, to get his permission to go to Niger, its spokesperson said.


SHORING UP SUPPORT

Any military intervention by the bloc could further strain regional ties as juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea have voiced support for Niger's new military authorities.


On Saturday, Tiani sent a delegation, led by his defence chief General Moussa Salaou Barmou, to the Guinean capital Conakry to thank leaders there for their support - a sign of the junta's desire to affirm alliances as it stands up to regional and other powers.

"We are pan-African. When our people have problems, we are always present, and we will always be there," Guinea's interim president, Mamady Doumbouya, said at the meeting, according to a video shared late on Saturday night by the presidency.

In the footage, Doumbouya - who led a coup in Guinea in September 2021 - did not say whether Conakry's support for the Niger junta would include military backing if ECOWAS decided to use military force. Mali and Burkina Faso have already said they would help defend Niger.

At stake is not just the fate of Niger - a major uranium producer and Western ally in the fight against the Islamists - but also the influence of rival global powers with strategic interests in the region.

U.S., French, German and Italian troops are stationed in Niger, in a region where local affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State have killed thousands and displaced millions.

Meanwhile, Russian influence has grown as insecurity increases, democracy erodes, and leaders seek new partners to restore order.

Western powers fear Russia's clout could increase if the junta in Niger follows Mali and Burkina Faso, which ejected the troops of former colonial power France after coups in those countries.

By Felix Onuah and Sali Samb, Reuters

Related story: Nigeria envoys meet with Niger junta

Video - Nigeria Air to be operational fourth quarter of 2023

After much delay, Nigeria Air is expected to begin operations later this year. The new air carrier is partnering with Ethiopian Airlines, which predicts Nigeria Air will help grow Nigeria’s GDP, expand the hospitality and tourist sectors, and add jobs.

CGTN

At least 20 villagers killed in latest attack in Nigeria

At least 20 people were killed by gunmen in north-central Nigeria early Thursday, surivors said, the latest in a cycle of violence targeting remote villages in the West African nation.

Dozens of gunmen arrived in Plateau state’s Heipang village after 1 a.m. and opened fire on villagers, most of whom were asleep, residents said.

“In a particular family, they killed five people — both the father, the mother and the children,” said one survivor, Jacob Dadi.

Dadi said villagers recovered 17 bodies in Heipang and then more people were shot to death as the gunmen fled to nearby brush land that often act as their hideout.

A local youth group, the Berom Youth Movement, said 21 people had been killed in total and seven others were injured.

Police confirmed the attack occurred but could not provide any detail about casualties in the area, which is 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Jos, the Plateau state capital.

Such attacks have become common in many parts of Nigeria’s northern region, where several armed groups target villages with inadequate security, either killing or abducting residents and travelers for ransom.

The attacks have defied security measures, including those introduced by Nigeria’s new president, Bola Tinubu, who was elected this year after promising to end the killings.

Residents in Heipang blamed the attack on herders of Fulani origin, who took up arms after clashing with farming communities for several decades over limited access to land and water. Plateau is among the areas with the most such attacks, with more than 100 people killed in the state in recent months.

Plateau Gov. Caleb Mutfwang said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack. The governor “appealed to security agencies to redouble their efforts and put an end to the senseless killings” in the state, Gyang Bere, his spokesman, said in a statement.

By Chinedu Asadu, AP