Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, plans to donate one-third of his wealth to charity as part of his succession plan, his daughter, Halima Dangote, has revealed.

Halima, a trustee of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, disclosed the arrangement in an interview with Bloomberg published on Tuesday, saying the billionaire had secured his family’s support to dedicate 33 per cent of his estate to philanthropy.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Dangote’s net worth is estimated at $35.

Explaining the decision, Halima said her father considers philanthropy central to his legacy and has embedded it into the family’s long-term succession plans.

“He sort of put all the structure in place whereby we focus a lot on health and education. He actually donated 25 per cent to the foundation. If you look at it, it is what we call in Sharia Code in Islam; it means he has donated 33 per cent of his whole inheritance to his foundation,” she said.

“That is how important it is to him because philanthropy needs to be in existence generation after generation.

“So giving back is part and parcel of what we do. We believe we’re here, that our business is successful because of the giving back and because of the philanthropic aspect. That is why the 33 per cent is important.

“And that is why he made an announcement and he asked myself, my two sisters and his mother to sign under that will that he is able to give that 33 per cent to humanity.”

The planned donation builds on Dangote’s existing philanthropic work through the Aliko Dangote Foundation, established in 1994.

According to Halima, the foundation was endowed with $1.25 billion about a decade ago and has since received an additional $700 million in funding.

She said about 70 per cent of the foundation’s spending is directed to Nigeria, while 20 per cent supports projects across Africa and the remainder funds initiatives in other parts of the world.

The foundation’s interventions span health, education, nutrition and humanitarian relief, and include partnerships with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and state governments in northern Nigeria that contributed to the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa.

Dangote’s planned charitable commitment comes amid growing global attention on billionaire philanthropy. While the proposed 33 per cent allocation falls short of the 50 per cent threshold commonly associated with the Giving Pledge, it would rank among the largest philanthropic commitments ever announced by an African billionaire.

Earlier this year, TIME magazine named Dangote among the world’s most influential philanthropists in its inaugural TIME100 Philanthropy list, recognising his charitable work through the Aliko Dangote Foundation, which spends more than ₦50 billion annually on programmes across Africa.

By Elijah Oguche, Abuja

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the expansion of the Nigerian Army’s command structure from eight to twelve divisions in a major reform aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture and improving military operations across the country.

The Presidency said the expansion would enhance operational effectiveness, decentralise command and control, strengthen border security and improve the capacity of the Armed Forces to respond swiftly to emerging security threats.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that the approval was part of the administration’s commitment to boosting national defence capabilities through sustained investment in manpower, equipment and military reforms.

According to Onanuga, the restructuring is among several measures being implemented to reposition the Nigerian military, including the approval for the recruitment of 28,000 additional personnel, procurement of critical military platforms, improved welfare for troops and continued support for force modernisation.

With the new arrangement, the Nigerian Army will operate 12 divisions strategically located across different parts of the country.

The formations include 1 Division, Kaduna, covering Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States; 2 Division, Ibadan, responsible for Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo States; 3 Division, Jos, covering Plateau, Bauchi and Gombe States; and 5 Division, Makurdi, responsible for Benue, Nasarawa and Kogi States.

Others are 6 Division, Port Harcourt, covering Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States; 7 Division, Maiduguri, responsible for Borno and Yobe States; 8 Division, Sokoto, covering Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States; and 9 Division, Ilorin, responsible for Kwara and Niger States.

The remaining formations are 10 Division, Jalingo, covering Taraba and Adamawa States; 81 Division, Lagos, responsible for Lagos and Ogun States; 82 Division, Enugu, covering Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi and Imo States; and 83 Division, Benin City, covering Edo, Delta and Bayelsa States.

The Presidency explained that the establishment of new divisions in Makurdi, Ilorin, Jalingo and Benin City would improve military coordination, strengthen internal security operations and ensure faster deployment of troops during crises.

It added that the expanded structure would enhance the protection of critical national infrastructure, improve counter-insurgency operations and strengthen the country’s ability to tackle security challenges across various regions.

Implementation of the new military structure will be carried out in two phases.

The first phase, which involves the establishment of the 5, 9 and 10 Divisions and the reorganisation of existing formations, is expected to be completed by September 2026.

The second phase, involving the establishment of the 83 Division, Benin City, and further restructuring of the Army, is expected to be concluded by December 2026.

President Tinubu commended the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Ibrahim Shuaibu, as well as officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army, for their dedication, professionalism and commitment to protecting Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The President reaffirmed his administration’s determination to continue investing in the Armed Forces to ensure they remain well-equipped, motivated and capable of safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians while defending the nation’s interests.

Eight people died and nine others were injured in a crush during an evangelical gathering in Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura.

Saturday’s tragic incident happened at a school where prominent Burundian preacher Chris Ndikumana was appearing at the event attended by thousands of people.

Eyewitnesses and the police said a wall at the exit gate collapsed as worshippers jostled to leave the venue as the preaching ended late at night, with some being trampled in the crush.

Neither Ndikumana nor the event organisers have publicly commented on the incident.

“There were so many people and everyone wanted to leave at the same time,” a teacher said.

“It was late at night,” the teacher from the Senior Technical School of Kamenge, the venue of the gathering, added.

In a statement, police said King Khaled Hospital in Bujumbura recorded six deaths – five females and a male – with four others being treated there. Two other deaths were recorded at a military hospital, where five patients were treated.

The police said two people showed physical injuries, with the rest having no signs of trauma, suggesting suffocation as being the main cause of death and injuries.

Ndikumana, whose YouTube channel has more than a million subscribers, leads the Kanguka (Wake up) ministry and often attracts huge crowds for his services in several African countries.

Some of his followers believe he can cure diseases through prayers.

Crushes during religious events are not uncommon on the continent. At least 20 people died in 2020 in neighbouring Tanzania during an outdoor religious service as attendees rushed forward to be anointed with blessed oil.

In 2022, 31 people died in Nigeria’s southern city of Port Harcourt where a church was handing out food to the poor, some of whom had waited there overnight.

The same year, at least 29 people, including 11 children, were killed in a crush in Liberia after thieves targeted worshippers leaving a large evangelical gathering.

US Strikes Hit Iran in Honour of American Soldiers, Says Trump

President Donald Trump said the latest strikes by the US hit Iran “very hard”, adding that the attacks were “in honour” of three US soldiers killed in recent days two in Jordan, one in Iraq.

In the early hours of Monday local time, US Central Command (Centcom) said it had launched a “new wave” of strikes for the ninth consecutive night as explosions were heard across Iran.

The US said it had targeted military sites and communications networks to “further diminish” Tehran’s attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said it had responded with a “surprise attack” in Syria and targeted US aircraft at Jordan’s Aqaba airport.

Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait’s armed forces said they had intercepted Iranian drones.

On the US strikes, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that several cities had been hit including Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini.

There were also Iranian state media reports that two oil tankers had exploded as the vessels tried to cross the strait.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the tankers were going through what it called an “unsafe and hazardous southern route” of the strait and “exploded and were brought to a halt”. Centcom disputed the claims.

The IRGC added that the strait “will not be safe for the transit of petrochemical products, nor even a single drop of oil and gas” as long as the US strikes continue and that it will respond with a “punitive operation”.

Over the weekend, the US confirmed that a service member had been killed after an Iranian attack in northern Iraq on Saturday.

That news came after the US said a separate attack on a base in Jordan on Friday had killed two soldiers there. The two have now been identified by the Pentagon as Pte Isabella Gonzales, 19, and Lt Tyler James Feehan, 25.

A third serviceperson was declared missing after the attack in Jordan, and US officials say “unidentified remains” have been found during the search process.

As the strikes continued over the weekend between the US and Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US “always remains open to a diplomatic solution”.

He also said “the world has to decide whether or not it’s going to allow an international waterway to be under the control” of Iran, saying Tehran was using the crucial shipping route as leverage.

His comments come as a preliminary deal made in mid-June to stop fighting has unravelled, with negotiations for a permanent peace making little progress after Trump declared the agreement was “over” on 8 July.