Do I drop it in your venerable chambers

   Or carry the heavy booty to your immaculate mansion

Shall I bury it in the capacious water tank

    In your well laundered backyard

Or will it breathe better in the septic tank

     Since money can deodorize the smelliest crime

Shall I haul it up the attic

    Between the ceiling and your lofty roof

Or shall I conjure the walls to open up

    And swallow this sudden bounty from your honest labour

Shall I give a billion to each of your paramours

    The black, the light, the Fanta-yellow

They will surely know how to keep the loot

     In places too remote for the sniffing dog

Or shall I use the particulars

     Of your anonymous maidservants and manservants

With their names on overflowing bank accounts

     While they famish like ownerless dogs

Shall I haul it all to your village

     In the valley behind seven mountains

Where potholes swallow up the hugest jeep

     And Penury leaves a scar on every house

My lord

     It will take the fastest machine

Many, many days to count this booty; and lucky bank bosses

     May help themselves to a fraction of the loot

My lord

     Tell me where to keep your bribe?

My lord

     Tell me where to keep your bribe?

The “last hope of the common man”

     Has become the last bastion of the criminally rich

A terrible plague bestrides the land

     Besieged by rapacious judges and venal lawyers

Behind the antiquated wig

     And the slavish glove

The penguin gown and the obfuscating jargon

     Is a rot and riot whose stench is choking the land

Behind the rituals and roted rigmaroles

     Old antics connive with new tricks

Behind the prim-and-proper costumes of masquerades

      Corruption stands, naked, in its insolent impunity

For sale to the highest bidder

    Interlocutory and perpetual injunctions

Opulent criminals shop for pliant judges

     Protect the criminal, enshrine the crime

And Election Petition Tribunals

     Ah, bless those goldmines and bottomless booties!

Scoundrel vote-riggers romp to electoral victory

     All hail our buyable Bench and conniving Bar

A million dollars in Their Lordship’s bedroom

     A million euros in the parlor closet

Countless naira beneath the kitchen sink

     Our courts are fast running out of Ghana-Must-Gos*

The “Temple of Justice”

     Is broken in every brick

The roof is roundly perforated

     By termites of graft

My lord

     Tell me where to keep your bribe?

Judges doze in the courtroom

     Having spent all night, counting money and various “gifts”

And the Chief Justice looks on with tired eyes

     As Corruption usurps his gavel.

Crime pays in this country

     Corruption has its handsome rewards

Just one judgement sold to the richest bidder

     Will catapult Judge & Lawyer to the Billionaires’ Club

The Law, they say, is an ass

     Sometimes fast, sometimes slow

But the Law in Nigeria is a vulture

     Fat on the cash-and-carry carrion of murdered Conscience

Won gb’ebi f’alare**

     Won gb’are f’elebi***

They kill our trust in the common good

     These Monsters of Mammon in their garish gowns

Unhappy the land

     Where jobbers are judges

Where Impunity walks the streets

     Like a large, invincible Demon

Come Sunday, they troop to the church

     Friday, they mouth their mantra in pious mosques

But they pervert Justice all week long

     And dig us deeper into the hellish hole

Nigeria is a huge corpse

     With milling maggots on its wretched hulk

They prey every day, they prey every night

     For the endless decomposition of our common soul

My Most Honourable lord

     Just tell me where to keep your bribe.

* Large, extremely tough bags used for carrying heavy cash in Nigeria

** They declare the innocent guilty

*** They pronounce the guilty innocent

Anyone who has seen enough of Nigerian history and politics would have known beforehand how Wednesday would unfold. Despite all the build-up of anticipation in some quarters, the procedure of presidential electoral petition tribunals is standard: they deliver their judgment (expectedly in favour of the incumbent), analysts will dissect the verdict for days (maximum, a week), and all the while regular life will go on without missing a tempo. Every presidential election since 1999 has been a subject of litigation, and each has unfurled in virtually the same way. If the tribunal does not rule on substance, they will do so on technicalities. Either way, there was no dislodging an incumbent.

Going to the tribunal for Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party was thus tricky right from the start. There is virtually no reasonable person who did not see the defectiveness of the election. Nigerians saw it; foreign observers affirmed as much. Yet, going to court does not mean a receiver of stolen goods would be dispossessed of their loot. Presidential election petitions are adjudged, not based on the integrity of their conduct, but on the presumption that the declared winner would still have won despite the irregularities. Contesting an election in court, even when you are unsure of victory, does no more than officially register your discontent. If you do not formalise your grievance, the declared winner (and their followers) will take the acquiescence as proof of the legitimacy of the election. They would have publicly reasoned that if their opponents had any worthwhile evidence to the contrary, they would have challenged the results in the courts. At the same time, by litigating, contenders risk looking like bitter losers. My attitude to these things is that it does not matter either way, you might as well do it anyway.

Yet one wonders why this time feels so different that some members of the judiciary and government officials thought it was worth undercutting the public expectations one way or the other. Partisans would, of course, write off the dissidence of a section of the public as mere delusions but discerning minds will probe why people became overly invested in the election petition process even when our history is instructive enough. My thought is that what people are looking for is not just judgment but justice, a sense that what is wrong with the polity can still be righted. But what about the present political atmosphere making people look for a breakdown of the existing order?

Looking beyond Nigeria for a moment, one finds that the “miracle” of bringing an abrupt end to the existing oppressive political order that people wanted the presidential election tribunal to perform is what the coups springing up on the continent are currently achieving. There is a good reason no one, except political elites of course, is bemoaning the erosion of democracy in different parts of Africa where the military has taken over. The ousted President of Gabon, Ali Bongo, gave himself away as another out-of-touch-with-reality political elite when he made a video asking people to protest on his behalf. Other than himself and his cronies, for whom is the coup that has stripped him of his privilege and power a loss? Say what you choose about the abomination of coups, but they satiate the desire of those who want cosmic justice in a socio-political arrangement that does nothing more than diminish them. Take away the partisanship of religious and tribal sentiments in Nigeria, and you will find that most of us are similarly disillusioned.

That is because our politics no longer represent our political identities or aspirations. It has morphed into a monstrosity, feeding on our hopes, dreams, and collective potential, all the while acquiring a strength that makes it difficult to dislodge. That ordinary citizens saw judicial intervention as a means to end the present political arrangement suggests they are yearning for—as far as democratic institutions go anyway—a force of power that can upturn the ongoing oppressive order. I wonder if the judiciary, in writing Wednesday’s judgment, apprehended the nature of the discontent or this all was just for them a technical procedure of interpreting the law?

Judging by how retired Supreme Court judge Mary Odili tried to school everyone on the issue at a Sunday event, I am unsure this reads to them as anything more than what subsists in a day’s work. While speaking regarding the presidential election tribunal, she expressed hope that “when the seasons (of elections and attendant litigations) are gone, the court gets back to their natural and regular duties of adjudication regarding the affairs, and rights of all persons irrespective of their status in life.” Well, while the people her speech targeted will expectedly move past the verdict, the cynicism with which they have regarded the judiciary in the past months (and which culminated in the #AllEyesOnTheJudiciary campaign the government tried to repress) will keep corroding trust in the institution. There is really no “moving on” here.

Some other examples do not show that judicial officers are taking the public criticism they have received in good faith. In February for instance, when some critics took up the Supreme Court on some curious judgments it had delivered in recent times, the institution responded with an arrogant, condescending, and—unfortunately too—a tawdrily written piece that called the professionalism of that institution into judgment.

Roughly a month ago too, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria ordered that the #AllEyesOnTheJudiciary billboards be pulled down. ARCON went as far as suspending top officials who approved the billboards and disbanding their unit. The overkill suggests that the moral pressuring the billboard sought to achieve was effective. The ARCON director-general who ordered the measures, Olalekan Fadolapo, claimed that the campaign is “considered a blackmail against the Nigerian judiciary, the presidential election petition tribunal and particularly the justices of the tribunal who are expected to discharge their judicial functions without fear or favour over a matter that is currently jus pendis.”

In a society where government agencies and officials routinely flaunt court directives, who really is in a better position to “blackmail” judges? Is it the faceless people who put up a billboard or those with actual political power who can cow judges to submission? Fadolapo must have been on vacation out of the planet when a senator, Adamu Bulkachuwa, stood up in the hollowed chamber of the National Assembly and indiscreetly confessed that, as Appeal Court president, his wife extended favours to his lawmaker colleagues.

Bulkachawa openly admitted what everyone knew all along: judicial outcomes are about the network of influence and not necessarily the law. Female judges, especially the ones married to politicians, are particularly vulnerable in this respect because there is a limit to which they can resist political pressure from their own husbands. Mrs Bulkachawa, of course, disowned her husband’s loose mouth but his unprompted statement already gave them away as influence peddlers.

In a country where the law is studiously observed that faux pas would end their careers. She would face a judicial panel, and every case she ever presided over would be subjected to review. In Nigeria, nothing happened. Mind you, the people who got away with such egregiousness are those Fadolapo thinks can be “blackmailed” by a mere billboard!

Rather than merely moving on, the judiciary owes it to itself to at least make some effort to understand that setting all eyes on the judiciary is a search for justice, for meaning, and for righteousness. Ignoring it will not make it go away. It just means a time will come when they take their eyes off the judiciary and become a law unto themselves.

 

Punch

Time- and experience-tested methods of improving your image and drawing more attention in meetings and other public settings.

Do you feel people at work aren't always paying attention when you speak, or that your word seems to carry less weight, even if you're right? Due principally to evolutionary factors, humans tend to respect and hold in higher regard those who portray strength, confidence and poise.

Here are methods I’ve found that can boost all those qualities in a public speaking setting.

1. Unqualified speech

“I feel like, maybe, we should try X instead of Y. Is that ok with you guys?”

Examine that sentence. How watered-down does it feel? It’s natural to be cautious about expressing an opinion, especially if it’s controversial or if there’s a high price for saying something wrong.

But consider this alternative statement: “Based on its merits, I believe X is a more cost-effective idea than Y.” In this version, a lot less doubt is conveyed and there’s both an evidence-based argument made and a specific motivating principle (i.e. cost) as the basis for your viewpoint. This balances concern of being wrong with the need for being more direct.

2. Active versus passive voice

As a listener, explore the differences between “The project is going pretty well” versus “Our team is executing the project very well.” By giving credit to the actor (the team) and not starting the sentence with the subject (the project), a sentence is made more dynamic, while also offering team kudos. The second statement is in the active voice, which adds to the power of speech generally. Passive voice, by contrast, is better used when we don’t want to point out people involved, and is often applied when something has gone wrong and/or an attempt is being made to protect someone from blame (but also not holding them accountable, which is a different problem).

3. Reducing fillers, and breathe

“Um.” “Uh.” “Like.” “So.” “Maybe.” Words like this are referred to as “fillers,” since they are taking up space that might otherwise be an awkward silencewhile we think of a response. Of course, everyone knows we should use fewer of these, but the question is how? One simple technique is to make yourself comfortable with that silence. Another is to go slow; when we speak too quickly, we outrun the speed at which our brain can conjure the next word. Finally, concentrate on breathing: Speaking is a physical activity as much as it is a mental one, and breathing deeply and regularly will result in stress reduction, and gives you an opportunity to consider the next statement.

4. Use shorter sentences and punchier keywords

This is a no-brainer. Including punchy phrases and sticking to the point helps an audience focus on the main ideas. Stuffing more words into a sentence is like putting more clutter on a table: the user can’t find what he or she is looking for. When it comes to keywords, emphasize the things that should be remembered — maybe even come up with slogans like “short lines, clear minds.” (See what I did there?)

5. Self-confidence

This factor seems like simple common sense: If you don’t believe in yourself, how can an audience? But again, the question is how to boost such a critical need?

First, wear smart clothing. It might seem superficial, but try giving a speech in a T-shirt and then do so again wearing a suit or pantsuit. Makes a world of a difference. Secondly, practice your stance and gestures in front of a mirror. Looking good is great, but moving great is even better. Keep your chest out and your back straight, with shoulders as broad as possible and feet as far apart as the shoulders. Finally, give the audience a smile (but no teeth) to put them at ease.

Lastly, remember what brought you to this point — all the hard work and hours you’ve put in and the accolades you’ve earned. You deserve to be here, no question about it. The audience genuinely wants to hear something good from you today, so give them great ideas and insights and show how much you believe in them. If you do, there’s a good chance they will, too.

 

Inc

There was heavy security deployment at the Presidential Election Petition Court and other flash points and dark spots in Abuja on Tuesday ahead of the delivery of the judgment on the election petitions challenging the election of President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday (today).

This was as the supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, and President Tinubu awaited the verdict with earnest expectations.

In preparation for the judgment, scores of armed riot policemen, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and other security operatives in plainclothes were deployed at strategic locations in the Federal Capital Territory in a bid to prevent a breach of law and order that might arise after the judgment.

The judgment will be delivered by the Chairman of the tribunal, Haruna Tsammani, assisted by other members of the panel-Stephen Adah, Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Moses Ugo, and Abba Mohammed.

The proceedings will be held at the Court of Appeal, Three Arms zone, Abuja.

Chief Registrar, Court of Appeal headquarters, Umar Bangari, had disclosed in a statement on Monday that the tribunal verdict will be delivered on Wednesday and aired live on television stations.

This, he noted, was to promote transparency and openness and for Nigerians to watch the proceeding.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, had on March 1 declared Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress as the president-elect after polling 8.8 million to defeat the PDP standard bearer, Atiku, who scored 6.9 million, the LP candidate, Obi, who polled 6.1 million and 15 other candidates.

However, five of the 18 political parties that participated in the elections challenged the outcome of the polls.

Besides the PDP and the LP, other aggrieved parties included the Action Alliance, Action People’s Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement.

The major contenders-Atiku and Obi asked the tribunal to nullify the ex-Lagos governor’s victory in the February 25 presidential election.

Ahead of the proceedings, the authorities Monday carried out heavy deployments of security personnel across the FCT.

At about 6.50 pm, truckloads of policemen were brought to the Court of Appeal, and the police vehicles were used to barricade the court entrance while several policemen were also patrolling the city in vehicles.

A police team was seen taking instructions from their superiors shortly after they were brought to the court premises.

A court worker noted that in the memo sent to the staff informing them not to come to work on Wednesday, it was stated that there would be a heavy presence of security operatives around the court premises.

The official said, “Part of the reason workers were told not to come tomorrow (today) was that there would be a heavy presence of security operatives in strategic locations at the court premise.’’

Our correspondent gathered that lawyers and litigants may be frisked before entering the courtroom while access to the premises would be tightly controlled.

Scores of agents were seen at strategic locations in the Three Arms Zone, Julius Berger, Area One, Wuse, and other parts of the city.

Police patrol vehicles were also seen moving around along the Federal Secretariat, Muhammadu Buhari Way, and Ladoke Akintola Boulevard.

Meanwhile, all major roads leading to the Court of Appeal would be also barricaded by the police before the court proceedings commence, it was gathered.

A senior security source revealed that the acting Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, had ordered all police commands and formations across the country to secure all major hotspots under their jurisdictions to ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order.

It was further learnt that the police made both covert deployments of operatives and equipment across the nation, especially in Abuja and Lagos State.

The authorities were said to be concerned about a possible eruption of protests which may be instigated by disgruntled political elements.

“Everyone is concerned. The police, military, DSS, and others are concerned. There’s an ongoing strike, and the PEPT judgment is expected to be delivered tomorrow (Wednesday), which puts a lot of pressure on all security agencies.

“This is because some politicians and groups may want to use the opportunity to sponsor protests or cause violence if the PEPT judgment doesn’t favour them or their choice candidate,” a senior officer said.

In preparation for the possible aftermath of the judgment, the police said they had put in place all necessary deployments and security measures.

The force also disclosed that its officers and men were fully prepared to maintain order and enforce the laws while respecting the rights and freedoms of all citizens.

The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumiyiwa Adejobi in a statement on Tuesday cautioned “mischief makers and political gladiators to be cautious in their actions and statements.”

The NPF further noted that it would not condone activities capable of inciting violence or causing a descent into anarchy, adding that all citizens must embrace peace and maintain calm, regardless of their political affiliations, to ensure a peaceful and secure environment.

Adejobi said, “In its bid to fortify security architecture and forestall any breakdown of law and order across the country as a result of the forthcoming Presidential Election Petition Tribunal Judgment scheduled to be passed on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, the Nigeria Police Force has strengthened its deployment across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

‘’The Police wish to reiterate the commitment to ensuring the safety of lives and property before, during, and after the judgment. The NPF has diligently emplaced all necessary deployments and security measures during this critical period as officers and men are fully prepared to maintain order and enforce laws while respecting the rights and freedoms of all citizens.

“Furthermore, the NPF strongly cautions all individuals, including mischief makers and political gladiators, to be cautious in their actions and statements as the Force will not condone activities capable of inciting violence or causing a descent into anarchy.

‘’It is imperative for all citizens to embrace peace and maintain calm, regardless of their political affiliations, to ensure a peaceful and secure environment. The Nigeria Police Force is dedicated to its duty of protecting and serving the Nigerian people and is committed to carrying out these roles with professionalism, impartiality, and utmost dedication. Together, we can ensure a peaceful and secure environment for all during this period.”

 

Punch

Former governor of Ekiti state, Kayode Fayemi, says democracy in the country is not working despite the end of the military administration in 1999.

This is as Fayemi said the protest that trailed the fuel subsidy removal during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 was due to political interests.

He spoke Tuesday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at a national dialogue organised to celebrate the 60th birthday of Udenta Udenta, founding national secretary of Alliance for Democracy (AD).

In January 2012, President Goodluck Jonathan announced the removal of fuel subsidy, causing a significant increase in the pump price of petrol, from N65 per litre to N141.

This decision ignited widespread protests across major cities in Nigeria, known as ‘Occupy Nigeria.’

After more than a week of protests, the government adjusted the petrol price to N97 and later reduced it to N87.

While speaking at the event, the ex-governor criticised the “winner-takes-all” nature of Nigeria’s democracy stating that the nation’s current challenges could not be effectively addressed without adopting proportional representation, where election rewards are distributed among contestants based on their share of the vote.

“Today, I read former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s interview in TheCable saying our liberal democracy is not working and we need to revisit it, and I agree with him. We must move from the political alternatives. I think we are almost on a dead end of that.”

“What we need is alternative politics, and my own notion of alternative politics is that you can’t have 35 per cent of the vote and take 100 per cent. It won’t work! We must look at proportional representation so that the party that is said to have won 21 per cent of the votes will have 21 per cent of the government. Adversary politics bring division and enmity,” he said.

He also acknowledged that all major political parties in Nigeria, including the PDP, APC, and Labour Party, had previously included the removal of subsidy in their manifestos.

However, he emphasized that the actual implementation of the policy in 2012 was driven by political considerations rather than a genuine commitment to the policy itself.

“All political parties in the country agreed and they even put in their manifesto that subsidy must be removed. We all said subsidy must be removed. But we in ACN at the time, in 2012, we knew the truth sir, but it was all politics.

“That is why we must ensure that everybody is a crucial stakeholder by stopping all these. Let the manifesto of PDP, APC and Labour Party be put on the table and select all those who will pilot the programme from all parties.”

Among those at the event were Jonathan, former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili; and former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka.

 

Daily Trust

Activities across different sectors have been grounded as a result of the ongoing strike of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

The NLC had last Friday declared two-day warning strike over current hardship caused by removal of petrol subsidy.

Minister of Labour, Simon Lalong, had called for a meeting to resolve issues raised by the union, but while the Trade Union Congress (TUC) attended the meeting, NLC shunned it and directed affiliate unions, including the National Union of Air Transport Employees, Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, among others stakeholders in the aviation sector to join the strike.

National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institution Employees (NUBIFIE) also directed bank staff to stay off duties for the next two days.

Our correspondents reports that banks in different parts of Kaduna State shut down in compliance with the two-day warning strike. Stranded customers were seen in front of many banks. But in Delta, there was partial compliance in branches of Union, Keystone, Paralex Banks as customers were secretly attended to.

In Jigawa, the state secretariat Dutse, local government secretariat, federal government secretariat, Federal University Dutse, among others were shut.

There were also less activities on the streets of Dutse as almost 50 percent of the people who usually move around remained indoors.

In an interview with the NLC secretary in Jigawa, Abubakar Yushe’u, said they took to the street and enlightened people about the strike.

The NLC secretary said they were not against the government rather advise the government to do the needful in addressing the hardship.

“We are not against the subsidy removal, rather against the current hardship it has brought, government has to find lasting solution to the hardship,” he said.

He said this is a two days warning strike after two weeks if the government did not take any action on this the labour would go to indefinite strike.

In Edo, the strike paralyzed activities at the state Secretariats, Central Hospital, courts and other private and public places.

Speaking with journalists while enforcing compliance with other affiliate union members, NLC state chairman, Odion Olaye, said the strike is total in the state.

“The two days warning strike commenced today. You can see things for yourself. We are in the state secretariat of the ministry and we have shut it down. State High Court has been shut down , Central Hospital, Coca cola, Guinness , 7Up, among others.

According to him, all government parastatals had been shut down, including the transport sector.

Olaye said that the NLC doesn’t need the support of the TUC to be able to send signal to the federal government and effect the needed change as it has the numerical strengthen to do that.

“TUC, we don’t even count on them. They only have eight unions while NLC has 42 unions and so we are working with that and all the areas that are supposed to be shut down have been shut down and anyone that does not comply with the strike action, a proper action will be taken against them,” he said.

Our reporter who visited the state secretariat observed  workers in clusters discussing why the tribunal could not deliver judgement on a House of Representative constituency dispute.

The tribunal had earlier fixed Tuesday for judgement.

 

Daily Trust

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the appointment of Sam Olumekun as its new national commissioner and chairman of the information and voter education committee.

The electoral body announced Olumekun’s assumption of office on Tuesday in a statement issued in Abuja.

Olumekun’s appointment marked the end of Festus Okoye’s five-year tenure as INEC’s national commissioner for information and voter education.

Okoye’s tenure, which began on July 25, 2018, as representative of the south-east geopolitical zone in the commission, came to an end on July 24, 2023.

According to  Section 155(1)(c) of the constitution, national commissioners of INEC hold a five-year tenure and are eligible for a second term of five years. 

However, Okoye’s tenure was not renewed by President Bola Tinubu.

The process of appointing a new INEC chairman and commissioners involves nomination by the president, ratification by the council of state, and confirmation by the senate.

As of September 2022, Olumekun was the INEC national commissioner in charge of the election and party monitoring committee.

In his new role, he will oversee public awareness, voter education, and the dissemination of information about electoral matters and INEC.

 

The Cable

Soap maker PZ Cussons said on Tuesday it has offered to buy out minority shareholders of PZ Cussons Nigeria (PZCN) and aims to de-list the business from the Nigerian stock exchange amid "foreign exchange challenges" in the country.

"The group believes the offer to be attractive for the minority shareholders of PZCN, particularly given the recent macroeconomic developments and foreign exchange challenges," the company said in a statement.

Inflation in Africa's largest economy, which has been in double digits since 2016, rose to its highest level in nearly two decades in July at 24.08% against 22.79% in June after the country scrapped a popular but costly subsidy on petrol and devalued the currency.

The Manchester-based company said in June that the devaluation of Nigeria's naira currency would adversely impact its profit next year.

PZ Cussons' offer to the PZCN board is to acquire minority shareholders' 26.73% stake for 22.8 million pounds ($28.7 million). The group said the funding for the transaction is expected to come from existing naira cash balances.

Last month, GlaxoSmithKline Nigeria said it plans to stop doing business after evaluating the options for moving to a third-party distribution model for its drugs and consumer healthcare goods.

($1 = 0.7933 pounds)

 

Reuters

Niger’s ruling junta said discussions are under way that are expected to result in the rapid withdrawal of French troops, after the West African country ended a military cooperation agreement with its former colonial ruler.

“The government has already revoked the deals that allow for the French troops to operate on our territory,” Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine told reporters in the capital, Niamey, on Monday. “They’re here illegally. Talks are underway, which should allow for a swift withdrawal.”

Ties between Niger and France have frayed since soldiers seized control of the country on July 26 and ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. The junta on Aug. 3 gave France a month to pull its 1,500 troops out, becoming the third West African nation to sever defense links that were forged to combat a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the Sahel.

Talks are currently underway, a French defense ministry aide said, without specifying the nature of the discussions. France has so far refused to recognize the junta’s authority to request the withdrawal of its troops or its ambassador.

There have been nine coups in sub-Saharan Africa in the past three years, creating a belt of countries stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea that are more friendly with Russia than with the West.

Military leader Abdourahamane Tiani said on Aug. 17 that regional sanctions against Niger and backed by France are part of “a plan to dismantle our country.” France has demanded Bazoum be returned to office and said it supports efforts by the Economic Community of West African States to overturn the coup.

The regional bloc has said it would use all means necessary, including force as a last resort, to restore constitutional order in Niger. Zeine played down the threat, saying that military action isn’t backed by all of the bloc’s members.

“Out of the 15 Ecowas members, maybe three or four are behind a military intervention,” Zeine said. “All the dispositions are in place and we’re ready to defend ourselves if it comes to it.”

Economic and financial sanctions imposed by the bloc following the coup should be lifted soon, Zeine said, after visiting Nigeria for talks with Ecowas mediators over the weekend.

Niger’s neighbors closed land and air borders, froze the nation’s assets at the regional bank and cut access to the regional bond market, among other steps aimed at compelling the junta to reinstate Bazoum. Nigeria, Niger’s southern neighbor, ratcheted up pressure on the military government by cutting its electricity supply to the country.

Last month, Niger gave the French ambassador 48 hours to leave the country, a deadline that France ignored, pushing Niger to revoke Ambassador Sylvain Itte’s diplomatic status and instruct police to expel the envoy.

“As far as the ambassador’s concerned, I think there’s nothing more to be done,” Zeine said. “His behavior was inappropriate for a diplomat.”

French troops withdrew from neighboring Mali after a 2020 coup in the former colony and the deployment of the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked Russian private military company. It left Burkina Faso earlier this year after falling out with the military leadership.

 

Bloomberg

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine's defence systems engaged in repelling air attack over Kyiv - Ukraine's military

Ukraine's air defence systems were engaged early on Wednesday in repelling a Russian air attack on Kyiv, the capital's military administration said on the Telegram messaging app.

Reuters' witnesses heard several blasts which sounded like air defence systems being deployed.

All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts as of 0550 a.m. (0250 GMT).

** Ukrainian intercepts show Russian soldiers’ anger at losses, disarray

Ukraine’s counteroffensive was in its second month when Andrey, a Russian soldier, called his wife to say his unit was taking heavy casualties. They were so badly equipped, he said, it felt like the Soviet forces in World War Two.

“They are fucking us up,” Andrey said by telephone on July 12, comparing the onslaught to the worst moments of Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union. “No fucking ammunition, nothing ... Shall we use our fingers as bayonets?”

The conversation was one excerpt from 17 phone calls placed by Russian soldiers fighting in the south and east of Ukraine that were intercepted in the first two weeks of July by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the country’s main intelligence agency.

The expletive-laden intercepts, shared with Reuters by a Ukrainian intelligence source, provide a rare - albeit partial - glimpse into the conditions of some Russian soldiers as Kyiv prosecuted a major counteroffensive, which started in early June, two military analysts told Reuters.

While Russia has so far largely stemmed Ukraine’s military campaign and made some modest territorial gains of its own in places, the soldiers in the intercepts complain that their units have suffered from heavy losses, a lack of munitions, proper training and equipment, as well as poor morale.

Both Russia and Ukraine treat their losses as state secret. Ukraine has acknowledged that its efforts to recapture territory have been hindered by vast Russian minefields and well-prepared defensive lines. It has liberated a string of villages but retaken no major settlements so far and the frontline has remained largely unchanged, frustrating Kyiv’s Western allies.

Reuters was unable to determine how representative the intercepts are of the conditions in Russia’s armed forces. The Ukrainian intelligence source said they illustrated the challenges facing Russian soldiers but did not elaborate on how the recordings were selected.

Neil Melvin, director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a defence and security think tank headquartered in London, said the calls appeared to confirm some Russian forces were thrown into defensive operations with little preparation and were sustaining high casualties, sowing tensions between soldiers and commanders.

Russia’s Defence Ministry did not respond to requests for comment for this story. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the military had to learn from and fix the problems it had experienced in Ukraine, promising to provide the army with whatever it needed. Reuters reported this month that Russia has doubled its defence spending target this year to more than $100 billion – a third of all public expenditure.

The SBU said in a statement it was constantly monitoring the situation in occupied parts of Ukraine, including via telephone intercepts, but it did not provide any further details.

“Turned it to crumbs”

The source provided what the SBU said were the names, telephone numbers and, in most cases, the units of 15 soldiers speaking in the intercepts. Reuters verified that the mobile numbers provided were registered in the names of the enlisted men or their relatives but calls either went unanswered or the phones were turned off.

Reuters is only using excerpts from some of the 10 soldiers whose identity it was able to verify using messaging accounts or social media in their names, which in some cases contained photographs of them in military uniforms.

The news agency is not disclosing the full names of the soldiers as it was not able to obtain their comments about the excerpts. In three cases, the soldiers’ wives confirmed their husbands were at the front in messages to Reuters but declined to comment further. One cited Russian secrecy laws.

In the excerpts, several soldiers used profane language to describe Russian units that had taken heavy casualties and had been unable to retrieve their wounded. One said his detachment had managed to advance but at a high price.

“That’s it. There is no second battalion left. They fucking turned it to crumbs,” Maxim, a soldier from the Siberian region of Irkutsk, told his wife Anna by phone on July 3.

He said the battalion - a unit that usually comprises around 500 troops - had been on the Lyman front in the northeast, one of three areas where the Ukrainian General Staff were reporting heavy fighting and Russian counter-attacks at the time.

British intelligence has said Russia has made some local advances around Lyman and Kupiansk in recent weeks.

The SBU said Maxim served in Russia’s 52nd Regiment. Reuters was unable to verify that affiliation or establish which second battalion he was referring to. The regiment could not be reached for comment.

According to an assessment by the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency leaked online in April, Russia had 35,500-43,000 troops killed in action during the conflict, compared to roughly 15,500-17,500 for Ukraine. Russia says U.S. estimates of its losses are far too high - and propaganda.

Maxim referred to his dead comrades as “cargo 200”, a term that originated during the Soviet Union’s 1979-89 war in Afghanistan as a military codeword for the zinc coffins used to transport home the bodies of dead Russian soldiers.

Often shortened to “200”, it is still widely used in both Russia and Ukraine to describe slain soldiers, while “Cargo 300” denotes the wounded.

“Basically, they couldn’t even retrieve the (cargo) 300s. The 300s became 200s,” Maxim said, meaning that the wounded soldiers had been left on the battlefield and died.

‘Everyone is scared’

Following months of fierce Ukrainian resistance on the battlefield, Putin in September announced a “partial” mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of reservists to replenish the ranks. He later acknowledged in a speech to defence chiefs in December that it had been dogged by “certain problems.”

Reuters traced one soldier back to the day he was mobilised into the Russian army on Sept. 29. His mother Elena posted a photograph online of her and her son in uniform on social media with the caption: “They took him today”.

About nine months later, the soldier, Alexei, was on the phone to his mother from Ukraine, talking graphically about battlefield losses.

“They were torn apart. They’re lying there: they can’t even collect some of them. They’re already rotten - eaten by worms,” he told her on July 12. Elena replied: “Really?”

“Just imagine, thrown on the front line with no equipment, nothing,” he told his mother. She did not respond to Reuters’s requests for comment by phone and on social media.

Alexei said that mobilised troops like him were being sent to the front line, despite public assurances by Putin that they would not be, and said they were not being provided with proper equipment to fight.

The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The SBU intercept said Alexei was located in Russian trenches around the occupied city of Rubizhne in Ukraine’s eastern region of Luhansk. Reuters was unable to verify that information or to determine the unit he belonged to.

Alexei derided his superiors and the army high command for concealing troop losses from Putin. “Everything is covered up,” he said.

“Everyone’s scared... They’re sending mobilised troops to the front line,” he added. “In the end, the generals couldn’t care less.”

Russian officials have said there are no current plans for a new wave of mobilisation and it is focused on recruiting professional soldiers. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said in July that 185,000 new recruits had joined the army as professional contract soldiers since the start of the year.

A fourth soldier, also named Andrey, told his wife on July 5 about problems retrieving wounded and dead troops from the battlefield as well as heavy casualties sustained by a Russian company.

The SBU intercept said the soldier was the deputy commander of a fighting vehicle. Reuters was unable to identify his unit or the company.

“The guys got fucked up yesterday. The whole ninth company was turned to rubbish - that’s 72 people. There’s 17 guys left.”

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine used cluster munitions against civilians – Human Rights Watch

The Ukrainian military used cluster munitions to shell the city of Izyum and caused civilian deaths, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. The attack happened months before the US provided Kiev with additional cluster shells, overruling the objections of many NATO members.

“We figured this out after the Russians left and our investigators went there to look into the war crimes and atrocities that were committed – and they saw remnants of cluster munitions everywhere,” HRW’s Mary Wareham told RIA Novosti. “After finding out the direction from which the fire came, they established that they had been used by Ukrainian forces.”

The 2022 annual Cluster Munition Monitor report, published by HRW this week, notes that the group had first reported on the attack in July, but that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry officially denied ever using such munitions in or around Izyum. 

The city commands a key strategic position in Kharkov Region and was held by Russian forces between May 2022 and late September, when they withdrew due to a Ukrainian attack further north. In addition to the attacks documented by HRW investigators, the Ukrainian military had used cluster munitions against the area throughout 2022, the report noted, citing the UN’s Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. 

Wareham pointed out that HRW had detailed testimonies about civilians who were killed or wounded by cluster bombs.

A HRW report from January also included information about the Ukrainian use of cluster munitions, as well as the targeting of Izyum by ‘Butterfly’anti-personnel mines, which killed 11 civilians and wounded around 50, including five children. HRW said that the Russian military informed the civilians about the danger of the mines, citing testimonials from around 100 local residents.

“Cluster munitions are abhorrent weapons that are globally banned because they cause both immediate and long-term civilian harm and suffering,” Wareham said while announcing the annual report. “It’s unconscionable that civilians are still dying from cluster munition attacks 15 years after these weapons were outlawed.”

Ukraine, Russia, and the US are not party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), which has sought to ban this type of ordnance, citing its toll on civilians. Earlier this year, Washington rejected objections from several NATO allies who are party to the CMM and sent Kiev 155mm artillery shells loaded with dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM). 

Some US outlets have reported that the Pentagon receives detailed reportsfrom Ukraine about when and where its DPICM ordnance is used. Russia has documented multiple instances of their use against civilians in Donetsk. 

** Kiev lost 66,000 people in past three months, fails to achieve goals — Shoigu

Ukrainian forces have lost more than 66,000 people and 7,600 units of weaponry since the start of the so-called counteroffensive, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said in a conference call with ministry staff.

He stated that the Ukrainian military failed to achieve its goals in all areas. The minister also reviewed the results of the recent Army-2023 conference, plans to replenish transport and long-range aircraft and training given to military cadets in the use of drones. Below are the highlights of the minister’s speech, as compiled by TASS.

Failure of Kiev’s 'counteroffensive'

Ukraine's armed forces have lost more than 66,000 people and 7,600 weaponry units since the beginning of their so-called counteroffensive. (In early August, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Kiev had lost more than 43,000 people and about 5,000 weaponry units - TASS.)

"In no area did the Armed Forces of Ukraine achieve their goals. <...> Trying to hide the failure of the offensive, Ukrainian militants attack civilian facilities and pass these terrorist attacks off as military victories."

The most tense situation has developed in the Zaporozhye area where "the enemy has committed into battle its strategic reserve brigades, whose personnel have been trained under the guidance of Western instructors." In the Kupyansk and Kremenaya areas, Russian troops significantly improved their positions.

Army-2023 conference results

The Army-2023 forum that was held in August "once again proved that even in the conditions of sanctions it remains a relevant platform for countries ready to build equitable partnership relations in the military-technical realm." The event was attended by military delegations from 83 countries and representatives of six international organizations.

During the conference, 20 government contracts worth more than 400 billion rubles were signed (a year earlier, 36 contracts worth 525 billion rubles were signed - TASS).

The concurrent Moscow Conference on International Security brought together 800 delegates from 76 countries, including 26 defense ministers. "The conference affirmed Russia's high authority on the international stage and demonstrated the failure of the efforts by the collective West to isolate it."

Aircraft

The Russian Armed Forces are to receive six Il-76MD-90A military transport aircraft and four modernized Tu-160M strategic bombers this year.

The Russian Defense Ministry will consider "opportunities for further development of military transport aviation," which has transported almost 376,000 people and over 2,700 units of equipment since the beginning of the special military operation.

Education and heating

The number of students and cadets in the Defense Ministry’s higher education institutions has exceeded 60,000 people, pre-college students 17,000. "Enrollment in 2023 significantly exceeded that of last year."

"Curricula have been revised to reflect the experience of the special military operation. Particular attention is paid to practical training, simulations, issues of organization and support of combat operations, the use of weapons, military and special equipment, including new models."

Cadets and students of Suvorov Military Colleges, for example, will take courses on the use of drones, and pre-college students and cadets will take part in command post exercises.

The Defense Ministry has already turned on the heating in its facilities across five Russian regions. In general, preparatory work "has been completed in full," and in the Far North "fuel reserve standards have been met."

 

Reuters/RT/Tass