Foreign News
Coup: ECOWAS Kicks as Guards Seal Off Niger President’s Residence
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), yesterday said the body will not tolerate acts that undermine democracy in the region.
The sub-regional body was reaction to coup attempt in Niger, as there was heavy military presence in the presidential palace in Niamey, Niger’s capital city, yesterday morning.
Chairman of ECOWAS, and President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a terse statement, said the leadership of the ECOWAS region will not tolerate any situation that incapacitates the democratically-elected government of Niger.
“The ECOWAS leadership will not accept any action that impedes the smooth functioning of legitimate authority in Niger or any part of West Africa,” Tinubu said.
“I wish to say that we are closely monitoring the situation and developments in Niger and we will do everything within our powers to ensure democracy is firmly planted, nurtured, well rooted and thrives in our region.”
The president noted that he was in close consultation with other leaders in the region, and vowed to protect “our hard-earned democracy in line with the universally acceptable principle of constitutionalism”.
“As the chairperson of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, I state without equivocation that Nigeria stands firmly with the elected government in Niger and equally conveys the absolute resolve of leaders in our sub-region that we shall not waiver or flinch on our stand to defend and preserve constitutional order,” he said.
Niger is one of the most unstable nations in the world, experiencing four coups since independence from France in 1960.
Following a thwarted coup attempt in March 2021, days before Bazoum was due to be sworn in, former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had also expressed displeasure with the shaky governance structure in Niger.
Buhari, who was also a former ECOWAS chairperson, described the attempted coup as “utterly naïve, despicable, and unacceptable”.
He urged African leaders to “remain united against coups under whatever guise or form”, and warned “coup plotters to learn from history on the consequences of instability caused by violent takeover of governments”.
Meanwhile, soldiers belonging to Niger’s presidential guard, yesterday surrounded and restricted access to President Mohamed Bazoum’s office and residence, in what appears to be a possible coup d’état. The reason for the move, which happened yesterday morning, is still unclear.
According to Reuters, ministries next to the palace have also been blocked off, and staff inside the palace have not been able to access their offices.
The rest of Niamey, Niger’s capital, however, appears calm.
LSI Africa reports that discussions are underway between mutineers and the president.
The West African country is one of the most unstable nations in the world, experiencing four coups since independence from France in 1960.
Previous coups in Burkina Faso and Mali were triggered in part by frustrations over authorities’ failure to stem an Islamist insurgency nagging the Sahel region, which includes Niger.
There was also a thwarted coup attempt in Niger in March 2021, when a military unit tried to seize the presidential palace, days before Bazoum was due to be sworn in.
Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had described the attempted coup as “utterly naïve, despicable, and unacceptable”.
Buhari urged African leaders to “remain united against coups under whatever guise or form”, and warned “coup plotters to learn from history on the consequences of instability caused by violent takeover of governments”.
 | ReplyReply allForward |
Brad Smith, the president of technology giant Microsoft has issued a stark warning regarding foreign attempts to influence the U.S. presidential election in November.
“The most perilous moment will come, I think, 48 hours before the election,” Smith told a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday.
“That’s the lesson to be learned from, say, the Slovakian election last fall,” he added.
Smith said two days ahead of the parliamentary election vote in the European country “a Russian group” released and pushed, including by amplifying the story with a top Russian official, a deep fake audio purporting to reveal a vote-stealing plot.
“The Russian government is very capable, very sophisticated, not just in technology but in social science,” Smith said.
The Microsoft boss stressed that “there are real and serious threats,” including in the upcoming U.S. presidential election set to take place on Nov. 5.
The race for the White House may be between Republican candidate Donald Trump and the Democrats’ Kamala Harris, “but this is also becoming an election of Iran versus Trump and Russia versus Harris,” the Microsoft boss said.
“It is an election where Russia, Iran, and China are united with the common interest in discrediting democracy in the eyes of our voters,” Smith warned.
Just a few days ago, U.S. authorities exposed a Russian-sponsored campaign that deployed right-wing influencers.
Accounts masquerading as the websites of news outlets like conservative channel Fox News and newspaper The Washington Post posted fake stories.
On Wednesday, a Russian group published a video of Harris, manipulated with the help of artificial intelligence, in which words were put into her mouth that she never said, said Smith.
The administration in Washington has accused Russia of interfering in the U.S. presidential election campaign.
Similar accusations had been made in previous elections.
Smith testified alongside Meta’s Nick Clegg and Kent Walker, president and chief legal officer for Google’s Alphabet. (dpa/NAN)
Six staff members with the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees (UNRWA) were killed in Gaza on Wednesday when two Israeli airstrikes hit a school-turned-shelter and its surroundings.“This is the highest death toll among our staff in a single incident,” UNRWA said in a post on the social media platform, X.
At least 34 people were killed in the strikes, according to media reports. UNRWA said the shelter manager and other team members were among the victims. UN Secretary-General António Guterres deplored the bloodshed.“What’s happening in Gaza is totally unacceptable,” he wrote on X.“These dramatic violations of international humanitarian law need to stop now.”The UNRWA school in Nuseirat, located in the Middle Area of the Gaza Strip, was sheltering around 12,000 displaced people, mainly women and children.This marked the fifth time that it had been hit since the conflict began 11 months ago.Earlier on Wednesday the UN said the site had been previously deconflicted with the Israeli forces.UNRWA called on all parties to the conflict to never use schools or the areas around them for military or fighting purposes.“No one is safe in Gaza. No one is spared. Schools and other civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times, they are not a target,” the tweet said.UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini lamented the “endless and senseless killing, day after day” in Gaza.Writing on X, he said at least 220 agency staff have lost their lives since the war began.“Humanitarian staff, premises and operations have been blatantly and unabatedly disregarded since the beginning of the war,” he said.He warned that “the longer impunity prevails, the more international humanitarian law and the Geneva conventions will become irrelevant.”In a related development, the UN reported that health workers continue efforts to vaccinate young children in northern Gaza against polio, part of a wider campaign to defeat the disease, which can cause paralysis.More than 81,600 boys and girls were vaccinated as of Tuesday, according to preliminary data from the World Health Organisation (WHO).Polio was detected in Gaza in June and UN agencies and partners launched a two-round campaign this month to provide over 640,000 children with two doses of novel oral polio vaccine type 2.So far, nearly 528,000 children have been reached in the first round. (NAN)
An Israeli drone on Tuesday fired several missiles at a flat in a five-story building in the market town of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon.Eight people were injured, according to an initial toll announced by the Lebanese Health Ministry.It was not immediately clear whether there were any Hezbollah members were in the targeted building.
Earlier, an Israeli drone assassinated a Hezbollah fighter riding a motorbike on the Bab Mareaa-Saghbine road in Western Bekaa and wounded two passersby. Hezbollah said that one of its fighters, Mohammad Qassem al-Shaer, was killed but did not specify where and when he was killed.The Israeli army confirmed it “struck and eliminated” the terrorist Mohammad Qassem al-Shaer, who served as a Hezbollah Radwan Force commander, in the area of Qaraoun,It added that the Israeli artillery struck the areas of Sawaneh and Aita al-Shaab.Since the war began between Israel and the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas in Gaza last October, there have been clashes between the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon in the border area.There have been casualties on both sides, most of them members of Hezbollah, which says it is acting in solidarity with Hamas. (dpa/NAN)
Ohanaeze Ndigbo President Iwuanyanwu for Burial Nov. 1
ShareBy David Torough, Abuja The remains of elder statesman and President General of the pan-Igbo group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief...
Shettima to Lead Nigeria’s Delegation to UNGA
SharePresident Bola Tinubu will not attend the 79th United Nations General Assembly session in New York this year.The President has...
NECO Releases 2024 SSCE Results
ShareThe National Examinations Council, (NECO) has released the June/July 2024 Senior School Certificate Examination results (SSCE), with 60.55 per cent...
NDDC Unveils Initiative to Enhance food Security in N’ Delta Programmes
Share The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says it is committed to advancing projects and programmes that enhance food security...
Kwara Govt. Seals off 14 Buildings over Concerns about Environment
Share The Kwara Government has in the past few days sealed off 14 buildings due to environmental concerns, the state’s...
Microsoft Boss Warns of Meddling Ahead of U.S. Presidential Election
Share Brad Smith, the president of technology giant Microsoft has issued a stark warning regarding foreign attempts to influence the U.S....
New Dangote Varsity Pro-chancellor Promises to Turn Challenges into Opportunities
Share The newly-appointed Pro-chancellor of Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Justice Abdu Aboki, has promised to turn...
KWASIEC says 21,000 Applied for 7,000 ad Hoc job During Saturday’s LG Elections
Share Alhaji Mohammed Baba-Okanla, Chairman of the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC), says more than 21,000 persons applied for...
FCT Civil Service Commission Begins Regularisation of FCTA Staff Appointments
Share The Federal Capital Territory Civil Service Commission has begun the regularisation of staff appointments in the FCT Administration and...
FCT primary Teachers Resume Strike over Unresolved Welfare Concerns
Share The Federal Capital Territory Wing of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) on Wednesday, resumed industrial action over unresolved...