Foreign
Coup: Nigeria cuts power supply to Niger, ECOWAS to confront junta
On Sunday, ECOWAS, led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, decided on sanctions against the military personnel in Niger who toppled President-elect Mohamed Bazoum’last week.
On July 26, officers of the Presidential Guard arrested Bazoum and declared him deposed.
In addition to a one-week ultimatum to restore constitutional order and the suspension of financial transactions with Niger, ECOWAS decreed the freezing of “all service transactions, including energy transactions.”
Impeccable sources in Nigeria’s power sector confirmed the development, while the AFP also reported on Wednesday that Nigeria had cut its electricity supply to Niger.
The international medium quoted a source close to the management of the Nigerian Electricity Company, popularly known as Nigelec, adding that the move was in line with the sanctions decided by ECOWAS.
However, industry experts called for caution and advised that the Federal Government should be diplomatic in handling the matter, as NIGELEC was under contract with a power firm in Nigeria, Mainstream Energy, for the supply of electricity.
Nigeria exports electricity to the Republics of Benin and Niger based on various Transaction Service Agreements.
Nigeria exported about N23.13bn worth of electricity to some neighbouring countries in 2022.
The report confirmed that Nigeria exported electricity to Transcorp-SBEE and Mainstream-NIGELEC.
SBEE is Société Beninoise d’Énergie Electrique, a Benin Republic power firm, while NIGELEC, which is Société Nigérienne d’Electricité or Nigerien Electricity Society, is a power utility firm in Niger Republic.
“Nigeria disconnected since yesterday (Tuesday) the high voltage line that carries electricity to Niger,” AFP quoted its source.
It stated that a NIGELEC agent, on his part, indicated that the capital, Niamey, was “supplied, thanks to local production.”
According to a report by NIGELEC, the neighbouring country’s sole supplier, in 2022, 70 per cent of Niger’s share of electricity came from purchases from the Nigerian company – Mainstream.
Electricity is produced by the Kainji Dam located in Nigeria.
However, to free itself from its strong energy dependence on neighbouring Nigeria, Niger is working to complete its first dam by 2025. Some 180km upstream from Niamey, the Kandadji dam should generate 629 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually.
Attempts to get confirmation from the Transmission Company of Nigeria were unsuccessful as its spokesman, Ndidi Mbah, neither picked up calls nor replied to a text message sent to her about the matter, on Wednesday.
However, the President, of Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, and Coordinator, of Power Sector Perspectives, Kunle Olubiyo, confirmed that ECOWAS would isolate Niger Republic from the electricity supply.
“About 60 per cent of power supply to Niger comes from Nigeria. Just like organised labour usually shuts down the national power grid as part of negotiations when all appeals might have failed to achieve results, Mr President (Tinubu) is the leader of ECOWAS at the moment.
“Disconnection of power supply is seen as a low-hanging fruit,” he stated.
ECOWAS Defence Chiefs meet
On Wednesday, Defence Chiefs from ECOWAS member states met at the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
Defence Chiefs from Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal, The Gambia, Cote D’Ivoire, and Cape Verde are in attendance at the meeting, which took place at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
But Defence Chiefs for Mali, Niger, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, and Guinea were absent.
The Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff and President of ECOWAS Committee of Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, said the Niger coup called for collective attention and a united response.
He added that ECOWAS frowned upon any form of illegal takeover of power, and entrenched it in the 2001 Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
Musa said, “We must face the challenges of restoring democratic governance in Niger head-on, drawing on our shared experiences, wisdom, and collective resolve.
He noted that the task of restoring democratic governance in Niger was not going to be a walkover.
Musa said, “We are not oblivious to the complex challenges that lie ahead. The task of restoring democratic governance in Niger is fraught with potential hurdles and complications. However, we cannot afford to be hamstrung by these challenges. Instead, we must confront them head-on, drawing upon our shared experiences, wisdom, and the strength of our collective resolve.”
ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah said there was a need to act on the coup in Niger to stop it from spreading to other countries in the region.
Musah said, “In the past three years or so, there are about eight to nine successful/unsuccessful coups in West Africa. Our organisation was exemplary in supporting the consolidation of democracy to the extent that just three years ago, all member states of ECOWAS were led by democratically elected Presidents. Today we are in reverse gear.
“We are not sure which country will be next if we do not arrest this situation West Africa is going to be a laughing stock of Africa and the world. Nigeria is a regional leader, there is no way this region can overcome these challenges without the leadership role of Nigeria.
“We are at an inflation point now, it seems like President Bola Tinubu is being challenged, soon after his declaration, we have this coup and the need to demonstrate that we can go beyond backing and bite.”
Meanwhile, a leaked viral memo from the Defence Headquarters revealed that an order had been given to the Navy, Army, and Air Force, saying: “Prepare to commence the movement of platforms to Sokoto and enforce a no-fly zone. The movement will be at short notice.”
“For the impending operations in Niger Rep Nigerian Army to provide two BN ( Battalion), the Nigerian Navy to provide One SPS COY ( Special Boat Service) and Nigerian Air Force to provide one REGT COY (Regiment personnel ). Prepare to commence the movement of platforms to Sokoto and enforce a no-fly zone,” the memo added.
However, The PUNCH could not independently verify the authenticity of the memo.
Response to an inquiry from the Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, was still being awaited as of the time of filing this report.
Source: PUNCH
Foreign
UK: 11 Drug Couriers Convicted Over £13.8m Cannabis Smuggling Plot Through Birmingham Airport
Eleven drug couriers have been convicted for their roles in a plot to smuggle cannabis worth an estimated £13.8 million into the United Kingdom through Birmingham Airport.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) investigated the group after Border Force officers arrested them in August 2024 and seized 460kg of cannabis concealed in 22 suitcases.
According to an NCA statement published on Wednesday, the couriers had travelled to the UK from Thailand via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on the same flights.
The convicted couriers were identified as Carsten Kyei, 21, from Newham, East London; Bradley Lloyd, 27, and Claire McCullough, 36, both from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester; Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton, Lancashire; Nathan Vitorino, 26, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire; Ryan Boachie, 32, from Edmonton, North London; Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, 26, from Dagenham; Tasia Nelson, 22, from Newquay, Cornwall; Jaden Ramen, 23, from Colliers Wood, South London; Paige Crisp, 24, from Broomhall, Worcester; and Jamal Clarke, 22, from Walthamstow, London.
Birmingham Crown Court heard that each courier had two suitcases, with each suitcase containing about 20kg of cannabis.
The suitcases were reportedly so heavy that the couriers had to pay excess baggage charges at Bangkok Airport to have them placed in the aircraft hold.
The cannabis had been vacuum-packed and concealed beneath a thin layer of clothing. Eight of the suitcases also contained Apple AirTag trackers, which NCA investigators established were connected to the same Apple ID account.
Suspicion was raised after Border Force established that four passengers had travelled from Birmingham to Charles de Gaulle Airport earlier on August 9, 2024, each carrying two large suitcases.
Border Force officers subsequently fully staffed the Nothing to Declare channel and intercepted the group.
One of the couriers had also been instructed by an associate: “my man gonna be on the other side – don’t leave the airport until you see him leave.”
Kyei and Vitorino were convicted on May 26, 2026, following a three-week trial, while Ross and Lloyd changed their pleas to guilty during the trial.
Crisp, Nelson and Ramen were convicted on Wednesday, August 19, following a four-week trial.
McCullough, Boachie, Olumoyegun and Clarke had previously pleaded guilty.
Those convicted on August 19 will be sentenced on October 22, while the others will be sentenced on September 3.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Paul Boniface said the operation involved extensive planning.
“A huge amount of planning went into this sophisticated attempt to bring hundreds of kilos of cannabis into the UK,” Boniface said.
He said the coordination of flights and luggage demonstrated “the lengths criminals will go to in order to hide their offending.”
“With thanks to Border Force, we were able confiscate these drugs and stop criminals from benefitting financially from the damage they cause,” he added.
Boniface warned people against agreeing to smuggle drugs into the UK, saying anyone who attempted to do so would face justice.
Adam Chatfield, Head of Border Force Midlands Command, said the convictions should serve as a warning to anyone considering transporting cannabis into the UK.
He said the young people involved now faced serious consequences, including criminal records that could affect their employment opportunities and future prospects.
Victoria Norman of the Crown Prosecution Service said prosecutors and investigators had pieced together evidence of a coordinated attempt to smuggle large quantities of drugs into the country.
She said the evidence resulted in six members of the group pleading guilty, while the others were convicted following trial.
An Australia-based Nigerian, Foluso Omole, is facing trial over his alleged role in a $5m fraud involving the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Omole was arrested by operatives of the Australian Federal Police at Adelaide Airport last Friday while allegedly attempting to flee Australia.
According to the report, Omole had allegedly “cut ties” in Adelaide and was preparing to travel to Nigeria before his arrest, a court heard.
The 38-year-old appeared before the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday, where his bail application was refused following allegations that he had attempted to leave Australia for Nigeria.
The court heard that Omole, a dual Australian and Nigerian citizen, had “purchased a one-way ticket to Nigeria” before his arrest.
A prosecutor also told the court that Omole appeared to have “sent, over the course of his offending, significant funds back to Nigeria”, where his wife resides.
The report stated that Omole was working as an NDIS coordinator and operating two businesses that employed several staff at the time of the alleged offences.
The prosecutor reportedly told the court that Omole allegedly received information “improperly” from a woman employed by the National Disability Insurance Agency over a period of six years and “used that information to obtain benefit fraudulently”.
The woman, who has also been charged in connection with the alleged fraud, was expected to appear in court on Thursday.
However, disputing the allegation that Omole intended to flee Australia, his lawyer, Mark Twiggs, told the court that his client had informed him that he planned to travel to London on a “return ticket” purchased before any raid on the woman’s home.
“The charges are denied. He has no record at all.
“My client has good reason why he should be given bail,” Twiggs said.
Omole is yet to enter pleas to one count of dealing with proceeds of an indictable crime worth more than $1m and one count of dealing with money or property valued at more than $1m that is allegedly the proceeds of crime.
Magistrate Patrick Hill, however, refused bail, citing concerns that Omole posed a flight risk.
“Whether it was a one-way ticket to Nigeria or a return ticket to London does make a difference as to the court’s assessment of whether or not Mr Omole is a flight risk.
“For the other reasons put forward by the prosecution, in any event, I remain concerned that he is a risk of flight and the bail application is refused,” Hill said.
In April, a Nigerian couple, Luciana and Femi Akanbi, were jailed in the United Kingdom for their involvement in a similar fraud scheme.
The couple reportedly used personal data belonging to Transport for London employees to carry out a tax rebate fraud scheme that cost the public purse more than £433,000.
The fraud, which was carried out between September 2021 and January 2022, was reportedly based on sensitive information belonging to at least 40 TfL workers, including passport details, National Insurance numbers and bank records. The information was used to submit 139 fraudulent tax refund claims.
Court proceedings at Woolwich Crown Court revealed that Luciana Akanbi, 38, who worked in TfL’s human resources department, had access to the personal records of about 107 employees, which were later exploited for the scheme.
A United States federal court has set August 21, 2026, as the deadline for the release of records linked to longstanding allegations concerning Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and U.S. financial accounts associated with him in the 1990s.
The records are being sought in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by Aaron Greenspan, which has reportedly been before the federal courts for more than three years.
The documents are understood to be held by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The development followed a reported request by the DOJ for an additional 10 days to comply with an earlier court order requiring the release of the records.
According to Von Batten, a Washington, D.C.-based Republican lobbying firm, Tinubu also joined the DOJ’s request for the extension.
The firm said it obtained a copy of a recent court filing submitted on Tinubu’s behalf and claimed that the Nigerian president formally joined the request just two business days before it became public.
However, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell rejected the request for additional time and directed that the records be released by August 21.
Von Batten said Tinubu’s reported decision to participate in the extension request raised questions about his reasons for seeking more time before the records are made public.
The firm alleged that the delay could potentially be used to lobby U.S. officials over concerns that releasing the documents might affect U.S.-Nigeria relations.
It further speculated that Tinubu could argue that disclosure of the records might affect his cooperation with Washington on counterterrorism and security matters.
The records relate to allegations dating back to the early 1990s, including the 1993 forfeiture of approximately $460,000 connected to accounts associated with Tinubu in a U.S. proceeding involving suspected proceeds of narcotics trafficking.
Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing and has rejected allegations linking him personally to drug trafficking.
Von Batten also warned against any attempt by U.S. officials to interfere with the FOIA or judicial process to prevent the records from being released.
The lobbying firm referenced U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated opposition to shielding individuals accused of serious criminal conduct, arguing that the legal process should be allowed to proceed without political interference.
With Judge Howell’s ruling in place, the records are expected to be released on or before August 21, unless further legal action changes the deadline.
The contents of the documents remain unknown, and their release could provide further information about the 1990s forfeiture proceedings and U.S. law-enforcement investigations involving accounts linked to Tinubu.
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
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