By Kingsley Omonobi ABUJA — The Nigerian Police Force and other security agencies have heightened security nationwide following intelligence indicating plans by suspected terrorists and other non-state actors to attack schools, places of worship, NYSC orientation camps and recreation centres during the ember months. Th…

…in Niger Republic following an alleged attempted coup that the country's ruling military junta said was carried out by soldiers within its own forces.Gunfire and explosions were reported in parts of Niamey, Niger's capital, early Saturday after attackers targeted Diori Hamani International Airport, which also houses an…

…can bring stability to the country,” he told AFP. – Presidential system – The junta says the change seeks to stabilise institutions before new presidential and parliamentary elections designed to hand power back to civilians scheduled for December 6. But the political climate is tense in the coup-prone coastal nation.…

…situation in the Republic of Niger,” the statement said. Niger’s ruling military junta had said it was back in control after mutinous soldiers clashed with security forces in Niamey on Saturday. The clashes reportedly occurred around sensitive sites, including the presidential palace and a military base at the internat…

…effort "to kind of destabilize the regime" rather than a straightforward coup attempt.A Junta already under pressurePresident Abdourahamane Tchiani, who seized power in July 2023 by ousting elected President Mohamed Bazoum, was reported to be inside the presidential palace during the attack, with his presidential guard…

…and al-Qaeda operating across the Lake Chad basin and the wider Sahel region.Niger under Junta ruleGeneral Abdourahamane Tchiani has led Niger's military government since July 2023, when soldiers seized power and detained the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. Since then, the junta has struggled to contain jihadist vio…

…heavy gunfire in parts of the city. Niger has been ruled for three years by a military junta that has struggled to contain jihadist violence, which has blighted the west African country for around a decade. “There was an attempt by insurgents from the Nigerien armed forces to enter the presidential palace,” a security…

…twice this year by jihadists. Niger has been ruled for three years by a military junta that has struggled to contain jihadist violence, which has blighted the west African country for around a decade. The origins of Saturday’s shooting were not immediately clear but the military said: “In light of current events, let u…

…wrong approach towards the three Sahel countries following military coups that brought juntas to power. According to him, the countries should not have been isolated because of the military takeovers. “I will get the ECOWAS leaders to sit down and deliberate, and we will use ECOMOG troops to ensure peace,” he said. Ati…

The International Press Institute has raised the alarm over the growing use of cybercrime laws by Mali’s military authorities to target journalists and suppress critical reporting. The warning followed the imprisonment and prosecution of several Malian journalists over their reports, public comments and criticism of th…

…on Monday a prominent broadcaster and an influencer, who had both criticised the ruling junta, to seven years in jail, an AFP journalist saw. The sentences are the latest handed to Malians critical of the unstable west African country’s military government, which came to power following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2…

…after years of fighting extremism found limited success. Niger, governed by a military junta for three years, has been plagued by jihadist violence and saw a spate of kidnappings of Westerners last year. Wamaps, a collective of journalists in west Africa, said last year that Rideout was “abducted just a few streets awa…

…neighbours and allies within the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) are led by post-coup juntas and grappling with insecurity amid deadly attacks from jihadist groups which have killed thousands. The Malian federation said the CAF meeting marks “a pivotal stage in the bidding process”, enabling the three member association…

Abidjan, Ivory Coast Ibrahim Traore, the head of Burkina Faso’s military junta, sought last week to stamp out speculation of a power struggle at the highest levels of government, warning he intended to remain the west African country’s only leader. The prolonged absence of two influential junta figures has fuelled rumo…

…who showed up at the US border, the former official said. Burkina Faso, ruled by a junta hostile to the West, has refused to take in people expelled by the US. “Is this a way to put pressure on us? Is this blackmail?” Foreign Affairs Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore asked in October when the US abruptly stopped proc…

…GMT), came more than two months after the same groups staged attacks against the ruling junta in which the country's defence minister was killed. The attacks were reported in Gao, Anefis, Aguelhok and Sevare, as well as a prison in Kenieroba. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesman for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA…

…Tunde Idiagbon. The clearest proof of Buhari being a titular head of state was the junta being toppled during the second of only two times Idiagbon was abroad in the 20 months the regime lasted. While the second visit to Saudi Arabia on Hajj pilgrimage was the last, the first trip was a year earlier in 1984, when he le…