British barrister Martin Hackett has been appointed as The Gambia’s first special prosecutor to try those responsible for human rights abuses carried out during the 22-year rule of ex-President Yahya Jammeh, which ended when he went into exile in 2017.

Hackett will head a newly created office charged with dealing with the cases from a period characterised by widespread repression, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was set up to document the extent of the alleged abuses.

In its final report, handed to current President Adama Barrow in 2021, it identified those most responsible and recommended their prosecution.

The TRRC, which heard harrowing testimony from victims, former security operatives and other witnesses, also called for reparations to be paid to the victims, warning that failure to act risked entrenching impunity.

The TRRC has started phased compensation payments, starting with victims of abuses committed shortly after the 1994 coup when Jammeh first came to power.

But for many survivors, financial compensation is secondary to accountability.

Among the most notorious cases highlighted by the TRRC were the 2004 killing of journalist Deyda Hydara and the murder of more than 50 mainly West African migrants, executed by security forces after being wrongly accused of plotting a coup.

A handful of perpetrators have already been convicted abroad under the principle of universal jurisdiction, including former members of the notorious paramilitary unit and death squad known as “the Junglers” – some of whom have been jailed in Germany and the US.

The appointment of Hackett, who has previously served at the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon and who investigated war crimes committed by senior military commanders during the Kosovo war, is seen as a decisive step towards domestic accountability.

Attorney General Dawda Jallow was quoted as saying that Hackett had a four-year mandate and was chosen from a wide selection of candidates.

Jammeh, who refused to co-operate with the TRRC, only left power at the insistence of regional leaders.

They sent in troops to The Gambia when he refused to step down after his shock election defeat in December 2016.

Now aged 60, Jammeh has previously denied wrongdoing and is believed to be living in exile in Equatorial Guinea.

By Ademola Bakare

The Nigeria banking sector has witnessed significant recapitalization and consolidation exercises, dating back to 1952. The most recent were in 2004 that terminated in 2006, and 2010. Professor Charles Soludo, then governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, raised the minimum capital benchmark from N2 billion to N5 billion.

The effort reduced the number of banks in Nigeria to 25 from 89, and Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, also a former governor, in 2010 established Asset Management Company {AMCON}, “bad bank” to ‘buy toxic assets off commercial banks, and recapitalized distressed financial institutions.

That era was largely an abuse of banking industry ethics, hugely perpetrated internally by chief executives, and board members of many banks.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s {CBN} just concluded effort was announced in 2024 with a two-year timeline, prescribing a new recapitalization regime of minimum capital benchmark of N500 billion, N200 billion, and N50 billion for commercial banks with international, national, regional licences respectively.

The new capital targets were ₦500 billion for international commercial banks, ₦200 billion for national commercial banks, ₦50 billion for regional commercial banks, ₦50 billion for national merchant banks, ₦20 billion for national non-interest banks, and ₦10 billion for regional non-interest banks

Recapitalization of banks in Nigeria is not novel, it has always been a regulatory measure employed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to strengthen the financial system, protect depositor funds, and enhance the banking sector’s capacity to support economic growth. The first exercise was carried out in 1952 (Banking Ordinance), caused by the failure of indigenous banks. The then colonial government adopted tight regulations, raising the capital requirement for foreign banks to £400,000. The Banking Act of 1969, was another effort to strengthen banks. It raised the capital base to £1.5 million for foreign banks and £600,000 for indigenous commercial banks.

In 1997/1998 (Bank Failures) following widespread distress and failures within the sector, minimum benchmark capital was once again raised, which ultimately led to the failure of 26 banks.

The Olayemi Cardoso recapitalization programme which started on April 1, 2024 was considered a herculean odyssey deadline for the banks to bolster their capital bases. But the governor has been consistent and uncompromising with his policies. He said “the era of fragile balance sheets was over”. He wasn’t just desirous of bigger and fat figures on a ledger, he was seeking a financial ecosystem capable of financing huge infrastructure, and a $1 trillion economy envisioned by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, as well as structuring the sector to be able to withstand any shock associated with the volatile global economy.

As of March 31, 2026, 33 banks have met the new requirements, raising ₦4.65 trillion in new capital. These efforts aimed to strengthen Nigeria’s banking sector, improve resilience, and support economic growth. The programme was executed seamlessly, devoid of any rancour, and recorded a very strong participation from domestic and international investors, with 72.55 per cent of capital sourced locally and 27.45 percent from international markets. This demonstrated growing and sustained confidence in the Nigerian banking sector, and by extension, the Nigerian economy.

The concluded programme offers several implications and benefits for the Nigerian economy. Among which, but not limited are – increased lending capacity. With stronger capital bases, banks can lend more to businesses, particularly the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and individuals yearning for capital to expand their businesses. Surely, this will strengthen financial stability as higher capital requirements will reduce the likelihood of bank distress and contagion, thereby promoting financial system stability.

For the $1 trillion economic aspiration of the government, a well-capitalized bank will attract more foreign investors to support Nigeria ‘s economic development, making it competitive. Larger banks are now, not a pack of local lenders, equipped, and can compete effectively with international banks, fostering innovation, and efficiency.

Among other benefits is economic stimulation, to ensure increased lending support for infrastructure development, industrialization, and job creation. With stronger shareholder net worth, banks performance will improve and the shareholders’ confidence boosted.

CBN’s strong regulatory framework employed by Olayemi Cardoso ensured that banks adopt more robust risk management practices, thereby reducing the risk of financial crises. The apex bank, he has often said, will continue to improve on governance, transparency, and accountability in the banking industry.

The recapitalization program when it was wrapped up earned commendation from industry players, and financial technocrats, who viewed the program as the prescription the economy required for its transformation.

However, not all banks operating in the country met the deadline. Some couldn’t, and are still continuing with the process of shoring up their capital adequacy. To these banks, the CBN assured the banking public, will remain functional.

Cardoso said, “Sustainable economic growth is unattainable without a resilient financial system. This recapitalisation ensures Nigerian banks can fund the scale of transactions needed to drive a $1 trillion economy”. Stressing that “the recapitalisation programme has strengthened the capital base of Nigerian banks, reinforced the resilience of the financial system and ensured it is well-positioned to support economic growth and withstand domestic and external shocks”.

The Olayemi Cardoso era will be etched in annals of banking sector history not for complexity of his monetary policies, but for clarity of his vision for the sector and the country.

Ademola Bakare, writes from Abuja.

Fears are growing in opposition circles in Zimbabwe that the ruling Zanu-PF party is making a new grab for power as it presses ahead with constitutional amendments aimed at giving parliament – rather than voters – the right to elect the president and to extend his term from five to seven years.

“This is a coup, a slow coup that is unfolding in Zimbabwe,” veteran opposition politician and former finance minister Tendai Biti said.

But Zanu-PF – in power since independence in 1980 – has vehemently defended the proposed changes.

“There’s nothing that stops us to change, to go to another system that’s less costly, less controversial,” party official Patrick Chinamasa said.

The conflicting views highlight the deep polarisation that draft legislation – aimed at changing the constitution – has caused, pitting Zanu-PF and opposition supporters against each other.

This became clear during public hearings that parliament held recently to give people a chance to express their views on the proposed shake-up that will lead to: Presidential elections – held since 1990 – being scrapped, Parliamentary and presidential terms being extended from five to seven years, Parliamentary elections scheduled for 2028 being delayed to 2030, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose second and final term is due to end in 2028, remaining in office until 2030

The new parliament electing the next president.

“I support the bill in its entirety,” a woman said, at a public hearing in a sports arena in the capital, Harare, last week.

Thousands filled the venue, with speaker after speaker taking the microphone to echo calls for Mnangagwa to remain in office beyond 2028.

Mnangagwa took power in 2017 after ousting long-time ruler Robert Mugabe with the backing of the military – and went on to win disputed elections in 2018 and 2023.

When the microphone was moved to the area where leading critics of the bill were sitting, there were scenes reminiscent of the violence and intimidation that has often marred Zimbabwean politics, with pushing, shoving and fighting – along with the snatching of mobile phones and journalists being ordered to delete videos of the chaos.

Leading opposition member and lawyer Fadzayi Mahere said that Zanu-PF supporters had caused the “commotion” in order to prevent critics from registering their disagreement with the bill.

Chinamasa denied that the ruling party backers were behind the chaos.

But the opposition says Zimbabwe is seeing a new wave of repression. In the run up to the hearings, the opposition groups say, the police banned more than a dozen of their meetings.

National Constitutional Assembly leader Lovemore Madhuku said he was beaten by masked assailants last month as the police watched.

Biti, who leads the Constitution Defenders Forum, is out on bail after being accused of holding a public meeting without official permission.

“We have a history of repression [in Zimbabwe],” he said.

Parliament is expected to pass the bill in the coming weeks, in what will be the culmination of a campaign that started in 2024, with the chanting of the slogan “2030 – he (Mnangagwa) will still be the leader”.

The campaign faced some fierce detractors within Zanu-PF, but its main critic – Blessed Geza, also known as “Bombshell” – died earlier this year.

For supporters of the 83-year-old president, the political overhaul will entrench democracy, ending what they regard as toxic presidential election campaigns that often trigger violence, and lead to results being disputed.

But for critics the bill is a step towards recreating the “imperial presidency” they fought to end during Mugabe’s 37-year rule.

A new constitution adopted in 2013 restricted a president to serving a maximum of two terms, further stating that any move to extend term limits would need to be endorsed by voters in a referendum – and, crucially, that a sitting president cannot benefit from any extension unless voters give their approval in a second referendum.

For the likes of Biti, the bill reverses these hard-fought gains, and could be challenged in the courts as, they argue, it violates the constitutional requirement that a referendum be held before the president’s term is extended.

But Zanu-PF is confident that it is acting constitutionally, saying there is no need for a referendum as, in its view, the two-term limit remains – all that is happening is that a term will now be seven, rather than, five years.

But critics fear that Zanu-PF – led by Mnangagwa – could be moving stealthily to scrap term-limits.

Chinamasa dismissed suggestions that the bill signals a “dramatic shift” in how Zanu-PF will govern Zimbabwe.

For the opposition, Zimbabwe is returning to its dark past.