• A dozen mutinous soldiers appeared on Gabonese national television, announcing the cancellation of recent election results and the dissolution of “all the institutions of the republic”.
• Wednesday’s announcement came after President Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64 was re-elected for a third term, in an election the opposition described as a ‘fraud orchestrated’ by the ruling party.
• The Bongo family, one of Africa’s most powerful dynasties, has been in power since 1967.
• The president has confirmed he is under house arrest and called for help, urging citizens to ‘make noise’.
• There have been scenes of celebration in the Gabonese capital, Libreville since the military takeover.

Commonwealth: Gabon coup ‘deeply concerning’

The Commonwealth has voiced fears about the military coup in Gabon, which joined the bloc last year with Togo, another former French colony.

Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said the situation was “deeply concerning”, adding that the bloc was monitoring the situation closely.

“The Commonwealth Charter is clear that member states must uphold the rule of law and the principles of democracy at all times,” Scotland said.

How many coups have there been in Africa?

Out of the 486 attempted or successful military coups carried globally since 1950, Africa accounts for the largest number with 214, of which at least 106 have been successful.

Based on data compiled by American researchers Jonathan M Powell and Clayton L Thyne, at least 45 of the 54 nations across the African continent have experienced at least a single coup attempt since 1950.

Gabon’s Assala Energy says oil production unaffected

Assala Energy says its oil production in Gabon has been unaffected by the military coup in the country.

“We can confirm that all our personnel are safe, our operations continue as usual and our production is not affected,” a company spokesperson said.

Gabon produces about 200,000 barrels a day (bpd) of crude oil, making it the second-smallest OPEC producer.

Coup leader says Bongo will ‘enjoy all his rights’

Speaking to the French newspaper Le Monde, coup leader Brice Oligui Nguema says the president will “enjoy all his rights” after the military announced it has placed him under house arrest.

“He is a Gabonese head of state. He is retired. He enjoys all his rights. He is a normal Gabonese, like everyone else,” Nguema said.

Nguema will not confirm whether he will declare himself the new president of the West African country.

“I do not declare myself yet. I do not envisage anything for the moment,” he said.

“This is a debate that we are going to have with all the generals. We will meet at 2pm [13:00 GMT]. It will be about reaching a consensus. Everyone will put forward ideas, and the best ones will be chosen as well as the name of the person who will lead the transition,” he added.

‘This is Francophone Spring’

Michaek Amoah, a senior visiting fellow at the London School of Economics, says people in former French colonies in Africa are tired of leaders clinging to power.

“This is Francophone Spring whereby the anti-French sentiment in a number of Francophone countries is now having a domino effect from Mali to Burkina Faso to Niger and now to Gabon,” Amoah said.

“If you look across the African continent at the moment, apart from Uganda and Equatorial Guinea, every single country where you find a presidential term extension, they are all Francophone. These heads of state can rule for a very long time. In Cameroon, for 41 years and counting,” he added.

Ships drop anchor around Gabon

At least 30 commercial ships dropped anchor around Gabon’s waters after military officers said they had seized power, Reuters news agency reported citing data and maritime sources.

British maritime security company Ambrey said port operations in Libreville had stopped and no vessels had entered or departed from the port since the announcement of the coup.

“Ambrey is aware that movements in and out of Gabon have been closed down following an early morning announcement by military officials,” it added in an advisory.

Russia ‘concerned’ about situation in Gabon

Russia has expressed concern about the situation in Gabon.

“Moscow has received with concern reports of a sharp deterioration in the internal situation in the friendly African country. We continue to closely monitor the development of the situation and hope for its speedy stabilisation,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Moscow is closely following the situation.

Russia is looking to build up diplomatic and trade ties with Africa, and President Vladimir Putin hosted African leaders for a summit last month.

‘Bongo era is over’

Political analyst Adama Gaye says the coup in Gabon does not come as a surprise.

“The Bongo era is over. Ali Bongo was no longer in the hearts of the population in Gabon. He was not accepted by the opposition, who were very strong this time around,” Gaye told Al Jazeera from Dusseldorf, Germany.

“There was also bickering between Ali Bongo and France to the point where, two days ago on national television, a speaker said there was a coup attempt being masterminded by Emmanuel Macron and the opposition,” he said.

“He [Bongo] was trying to create the condition for him to clamp down on the opposition and to fabricate another victory for himself in another rigged election. But this time around, the military realised that this was too far-fetched and they had to act, and that is what they did,” Gaye added.

France says Gabon election result should be respected

French government spokesman Olivier Veran says Paris condemns the coup in Gabon and wants the election result to be respected.

Earlier, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said France is following events in Gabon “with the greatest attention”.

On Monday, President Emmanuel Macron denounced what he called an “epidemic” of coups in recent years in French-speaking Africa, from Mali and Burkina Faso to Guinea and most recently Niger.

Paris maintains a military presence in many of its former colonial territories, including Gabon, where it has 370 soldiers permanently deployed, some in the capital, Libreville, according to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces website.

Oil giant Total says safety of employees, operations ‘main priority’

The French oil giant TotalEnergies says it has made arrangements to ensure the safety of its employees and operations in Gabon.

The company is the country’s main distributor of petroleum products with 45 petrol stations and 350 staff.

Gabon also accounted for 0.6 percent of the company’s oil and gas output in 2022.

The group did not immediately respond to a question about whether the coup could potentially have an impact on its operations.

Coup leaders say President Bongo under house arrest

Gabon’s coup leaders say President Ali Bongo Ondimba is under house arrest and one of his sons has been arrested for “treason”.

“President Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors,” they said in a statement read out on state TV.

Bongo’s son and close adviser Noureddin Bongo Valentin, his chief of staff Ian Ghislain Ngoulou as well as his deputy, two other presidential advisers and the two top officials in the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) “have been arrested”, a military leader said.

They are accused of treason, embezzlement, corruption and falsifying the president’s signature, among other allegations, he said.

‘In the past France would have intervened’

France is unlikely to send its military to intervene in its former colony, Tara O’Connor, executive director of Africa Risk Consulting, told Al Jazeera from Bordeaux.

“I think what is very clear is that dynastic politics are extremely unpopular across West Africa. But I do think this is opportunistic on the part of the military officers following the military coups that have taken place, successfully it has to be said, in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, which are all neighbouring countries and with whom the military leadership will have relations,” O’Connor said.

“Gabon is yet another country that was formerly a dictatorship under Ali Bongo’s father. It actually moved towards democracy and has had relatively successful and peaceful elections. But I think much more interesting is its position in relation to France,” she said.

“In the past, France would have intervened with its military. But France has modernised its foreign policy towards Africa and now would only intervene at the invitation of says ECOWAS or any of the regional bodies or the African Union,” she added.

French mining group Eramet says Gabon operations stopped

The French mining group Eramet says it has stopped its operations in Gabon.

“For the safety of staff and the security of operations”, Eramet said it had stopped work and was following events closely.

It employs 8,000 people in the oil- and mineral-rich West African country, and its local subsidiary extracts manganese ore from the Moanda mines, the world’s largest manganese mines. The mineral is used in steelmaking and batteries.

‘The coup in Gabon is different’: Analyst

Ovigwe Eguegu, analyst at the security consultancy group Afripolitika, says the apparent coup in Gabon is not similar to others witnessed in West Africa.

“The coup in Gabon came as a surprise but to some extent, it is not really a surprise because if you go back to 2016 for instance when there was an election, the vote was fraudulent with people protesting the results. That was Ali Bongo’s second term,” Eguegu said.

“Then in 2019, there was a coup attempt and those officers cited election irregularities saying it was not representative of the will of the people,” he added.

“Again, we are seeing the same pattern. The coup in Gabon is different from what we are seeing in other West African countries. While those other coups are more about security and governance, this is specifically about the electoral process,” he said.

China calls for President Bongo’s safety to be guaranteed

China has called for “all sides” in Gabon to guarantee safety of President Ali Bongo Ondimba after a group of military officers said they were “putting an end to the current regime” in the Central African nation.

“We call on all sides in Gabon to proceed from the basic interests of the country and the people, resolve differences through dialogue, [and] restore normal order as soon as possible,” foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday.

Wang called on parties to “guarantee the personal safety of President Bongo, and uphold national peace and stability”.

Al Jazeera

A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power, minutes after the state election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term.

Appearing on television channel Gabon 24, the officers said they represented all security and defence forces in the Central African nation. They said the election results were cancelled, all borders closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved.

Loud sounds of gunfire could be heard in the capital Libreville, a Reuters reporter said, after the television appearance.

There was no immediate comment from the government of the OPEC-member nation. There were no immediate reports on the whereabouts of Bongo, who was last seen in public when he cast his vote in the election on Saturday.

"In the name of the Gabonese people ... we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime," the officers said in a statement.

As one officer read the joint statement, around a dozen others stood silently behind him in military fatigues and berets.

The servicemen introduced themselves as members of The Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions. The state institutions they declared dissolved included the government, the senate, the national assembly, the constitutional court and the election body.

If successful, the coup would represent the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020. Coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger have undermined democratic progress in recent years.

Last month, the military snatched power in Niger, sending shockwaves across the Sahel and sucking in global powers with strategic interests at stake.

Tensions were running high in Gabon amid fears of unrest after Saturday's presidential, parliamentary, and legislative vote, which saw Bongo seeking to extend his family's 56-year grip on power while the opposition pushed for change in the oil and cocoa-rich but poverty-stricken nation.

A lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts, and the authorities' decision to cut internet service and impose a night-time curfew nationwide after the poll had raised concerns about the transparency of the electoral process.

Gabon foiled an attempted military coup in January 2019 after soldiers briefly seized the state radio station and broadcast a message saying Bongo, who had suffered a stroke months earlier, was no longer fit for office.

The situation was restored hours later after two of the suspected coup plotters were killed and others arrested.

IN POWER SINCE 2009

The Gabonese Election Centre said earlier on Wednesday Bongo won the election with 64.27% of the vote and that his main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, had come in second place with 30.77%.

Bongo, 64, who succeeded his father Omar as president in 2009, had contested against 18 challengers, six of whom backed Ondo Ossa in an effort to narrow the race.

The government has said the web blackout and curfew are necessary to prevent the spread of fake news and to protect public safety. Bongo's disputed 2016 election win provoked violent protests that saw the parliament building torched.

His team have rejected allegations of fraud by Ondo Ossa and his opposition alliance after a vote marred by numerous polling stations opening several hours late.

The alliance Alternance 2023 also reported other alleged irregularities including that ballot slips for its candidates had not been deployed correctly in some areas. Reuters could not independently verify the claim.

The European Union was not invited to observe this election. EU monitors previously questioned the validity of Bongo's narrow victory in the 2016 presidential vote.

On Monday, media watchdog Reporters without Borders (RSF) voiced concern about the internet block and Gabon's temporary suspension of broadcasts by French international news outlets RFI, France 24, and TV5 Monde.

"RSF denounces a series of attacks on press freedom and information pluralism, facts likely to compromise (the) general election's transparency," it said in an online post.

The opposition has disputed both of Bongo's previous electoral victories, citing fraud. He first came to power in a 2009 vote following the death of his father Omar Bongo before being re-elected in 2016.

Reuters

In July 2018, Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria at the time, boarded a gleaming new train linking the capital city, Abuja, with its airport. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Buhari hailed the system as “evidence that we are a government that delivers on its promises.”

Five years on, that promise looks empty. Train cars are locked away at a depot. Cavernous stations fully equipped with escalators, ticket offices, cameras and scanners stand empty, overseen by bored security guards. The faux leather couches in the VIP area are covered in bird and bat droppings. “It’s an abandoned project,” says Rowland Ataguba, an adviser to the government on rail strategy. “Quite clearly there was no plan on how to run the operations before they built it.”

The $823 million Abuja Light Rail—the first of its kind in West Africa—was closed in March 2020, ostensibly to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Since then, it’s remained shuttered, and there’s been scant progress toward a resumption of service on the 27-kilometer (17-mile) line. Meanwhile, Nigeria is spending $50 million a year paying down the project’s $500 million in loans from the Export-Import Bank of China. “The current situation is a mystery for the next minister to unravel,” says Nasir El-Rufai, who as minister in charge of the capital area signed the contract to build the railway 16 years ago.

The idea was to reduce congestion, helping the city avoid the polluted, traffic-clogged fate of the country’s commercial hub, Lagos—the capital until Abuja, a city newly carved out of the savannah in central Nigeria, opened for business in 1991. From the time planning started in the 1970s, Abuja was always meant to have urban rail, but it wasn’t until 2007 that China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. won the contract for the first leg, and it took another half-decade for the government to secure sufficient funding.

The line was intended to be the first of a half dozen in a 290-kilometer network that would connect the city to the satellite towns where many workers live. Instead, it’s become a lesson in how not to create a mass transit system, says Mohamed Lawal Shaibu of Envicons Teams Ltd., an urban planning consultant in Abuja. The problem, Shaibu says, is that the train serves areas with little demand. “It has been very terribly executed,” he says. “The line basically avoided where people are, where people live, where people go.”

At one end lies the airport, a place where most people who can afford to fly typically arrive by car. At the other end is an isolated area of the so-called Central Business District, where the road in front of the station is more often filled with herders driving cattle to grazing land than anyone headed to or from work. Out back is scrubland where people fleeing violence in the north of the country have built shacks. An additional 18 kilometers of track was built toward the suburbs but never saw any service.

The first section was conceived about two decades ago as an airport link to bolster the capital’s bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. But after Abuja lost out to Glasgow, local officials stuck with the plan rather than adapting it to create a system that might better serve residents, according to Tonami Playman, an independent researcher who studies African public transport. “Politicians just want something to ribbon-cut and don’t care what kind of utility the infrastructure will provide,” he says.

During the 20 months the line was open, a maximum of four trains a day made the 40-minute trip between the city and the airport in each direction, making just one stop in between while breezing through five other stations. The system failed because it was “neither a high occupancy nor a high frequency service,” according to a report prepared for Japan’s development agency in 2019, which estimated daily ridership at fewer than 1,000 passengers, compared with a forecast of 34,000.

Mohammed Bello, the minister who ran the capital area under Buhari, said in October that he was working “toward the imminent resumption of operations.” That didn’t happen. Bello left his post in May when Buhari retired, and the newly elected president, Bola Tinubu, waited until Aug. 16 to name a successor. Neither Tinubu’s office nor the capital administration replied to questions about the railway.

The new minister in charge of the capital region, Nyesom Wike, on Aug. 23 toured the line and vowed that trains would be back on track within eight months. And the city has signed a $6.6 million deal with the Chinese construction company to complete repairs. The project’s defenders say once the system starts running at full throttle—whenever that might be—it will boost development along the route, and starting with a line through more densely populated areas would have been more expensive.

The main reason for the ongoing closure is damage suffered during the shutdown, according to the state-owned company appointed to run the system in May. A project manager involved in the railway says thieves have stolen crucial equipment such as communications cables, copper wiring and signaling gear, and repairing or replacing that will take at least six months once work begins.

The plan is to integrate the train with a revamped public bus service that will ferry passengers from stations to their final destinations. Until then, though, the 3.8 million residents of the fast-growing city, and millions more who live nearby, are left with few options beyond the thousands of rickety shared taxis and minibuses that ply the streets and highways.

Nigeria is notorious for grand infrastructure projects that are ill-conceived, never completed or quickly abandoned. The Ajaokuta steel mill, for instance, has swallowed $7 billion since the 1970s without ever producing a sheet, rod or coil. The government has committed billions of dollars to restoring four oil refineries that have barely produced any fuel in more than a decade. And just a couple of miles from the train’s city terminus, the 170-meter-tall Millennium Tower—intended to be a cultural complex topped with a revolving restaurant—remains unfinished 17 years after construction began.

Any significant further investment in the rail project in the near term, either providing the needed subsidies for the existing line or constructing the next one, remains unlikely. Nigeria’s government spent almost all its revenue last year on debt service, and going back to Chinese lenders is getting increasingly difficult, as the government and banks there become less generous in the face of growing domestic challenges. Six years ago the Abuja administration awarded China Civil Engineering a $1.5 billion deal to build the second phase of the train system, intended to serve busier areas, but adequate funding has yet to be lined up, leaving the project in deep freeze. “Signing a contract is one thing,” says Najeeb Abdussalam, head of the city’s public transit agency. “Raising the money is another.”

Bloomberg

Crude oil theft may have cost the country a whopping N1.9tn revenue loss in July.

The estimation was arrived at following a pronouncement by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, last week when he led a presidential delegation to inspect oil and gas facilities at Owaza in Abia and Rivers State.

Ribadu said Nigeria was losing 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily due to activities of oil thieves and pipeline vandals.

He added that the country had the capacity to produce 2 million barrels of crude oil per day.

“It is unfortunate that few individuals would steal our common resources, and in the process cause unbelievable loss to the nation, communities and the people,” Ribadu said.

“Nigeria has the capacity to produce two million barrels of crude daily, but we are currently producing less than 1.6 million barrels due to theft and vandalisation of pipelines.’’

“So, we’re talking about 400,000 barrels of crude oil going to waste, with few criminals and economic saboteurs not even getting much out of it,” he said.

Checks on data provided in the August report of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries showed that the country’s July crude oil production, as provided by direct sources such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, was one million barrels per day.

According to OPEC August report, Nigeria’s crude grade, Bonny Light, against which all other crude grades produced by the country were priced, was sold for $80 per barrel in July. The exchange rate against the dollar was also at N777/$1 in July.

This estimation brings total revenue loss to crude oil theft to N1.9tn in July alone.

Punch

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it has commenced the implementation of value-added tax (VAT) on automobile gas oil (AGO), also known as diesel, imported into the country.

The service made this known in a memo, dated July 28, 2023, sent to all importers and agents of diesel.

The memo was titled, ‘Request for Charge of Value Added Tax (VAT) on Automobile Gas Oil (ago) or Diesel Imported into the Country’. 

The communication, signed by PC Chibuoke (DC admin) on behalf of the area controller, Area I, Port Harcourt; made reference to a “headquarters circular No. NCS/T&T/T/899/217/VOL.I of 27 July 2023 on the above subject matter”.

“I am directed to inform you that henceforth, Value Added Tax (VAT) is to be charged on Automobile Gas Oil (AGO), and Procedure Code 4900 000 shall be used on all importations of AGO,” the memo reads.

The service added that no importer of diesel is allowed to use “additional Code 409 in their declaration”.

In 2020, the federal government began the implementation of the Finance Act, which stated that a 7.5 percent VAT would be charged on diesel costs.

The development means that the price of diesel, which has been surging, may reach unprecedented highs — further worsening the plight of Nigerians and manufacturers.

In July 2023, the price of a litre of the product increased to N794.48 a litre, compared to N774.38 per litre in the corresponding period last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The Cable

Foreign investment in Nigerian stocks fell last month to its lowest level since President Bola Tinubu’s reforms that sparked a massive rally in the equities market, new data from the nation’s bourse show.

The total amount of stocks bought by foreign investors plunged to N9.45 billion from N22.72 billion in June, according to data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

Stocks worth N31.09 billion were offloaded by foreigners in July, compared to an outflow of N23.02 billion in the previous month.

Foreign inflow into Nigerian stocks had jumped more than seven-fold in May to N27.51 billion, its highest level since December 2021, as the market soared on the last two trading days of that month following the announcement of petrol subsidy removal by Tinubu on May 29. That month, the market posted its first net inflow this year as the outflow was N9.65 billion, up from N4.80 billion in the previous month.

The subsidy removal was followed by a foreign exchange reform that led to a large devaluation of the naira in mid-June.

“The uncertainty in the FX market may have led to the exit observed in July,” Ayodeji Ebo, managing director/chief business officer of Optimus by Afrinvest, told BusinessDay. “In addition, profit-taking may also be a major factor for the pull-out.”

Foreign participation in the equities market had increased to 11.51 percent in May from 4.43 percent in the previous month. It fell to 11.25 percent in June and 5.77 percent in July, the NGX data show.

The total transactions executed by Foreign investors fell by 11.37 percent in July to N40.54 billion (about $52.58 million) in the previous month, while domestic deals rose 83.50 percent to N662.44 billion.

BusinessDay had reported in February that for the first time in five years, foreign investors bought more Nigerian stocks than they sold in 2022.

The net foreign inflow came as foreign investors were forced to reinvest their dividends and sales proceeds into securities because they could not get dollars to repatriate their funds.

The latest data from the NGX explains foreign portfolio investors’ (FPIs) sentiments about the Nigerian capital market, hence the urgent need to provide confidence by increasing FX earnings in the medium to long term, Ebo said.

“We expect to see more FPIs in fixed income as yields improve, especially OMO bills,” he added.

On 10 August, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) auctioned its first OMO bills since December 29, 2022.

Analysts at Cordros Securities Limited said in an August 15 note that the move represented one of the short-term fixes for the CBN to attract FPIs into the FX market amid concerns that the Treasury bills yields were too low to attract foreign investors.

They expressed cautious optimism that active OMO operations with competitive interest rates would complement recent FX reforms, even as they raised concerns over “a bifurcation of interest rates where rates are high for foreign investors (OMO bills) but low for domestic investors (Treasury bills) following the Debt Management Office’s efforts to keep borrowing costs low”.

“Moreover, bringing back OMO as a tool for attracting foreign investors takes us back to the unorthodox monetary policy era. It will come at a considerable cost to the CBN’s balance sheet,” the analysts added.

Bismarck Rewane, managing director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, said the Nigerian stock market lost 1.43 percent in the last week of July following a 25 basis-point hike in the monetary policy rate and the release of underwhelming half-year earnings by some Nigerian companies.

The central bank raised its benchmark interest rate in July for the eighth consecutive month to 18.75 percent from 18.50 percent.

The NGX gained 5.53 percent in July, down from 9.38 percent in the previous month, with investors gradually exiting equities “for attractive fixed income yields”, Rewane said in his presentation at the Lagos Business School Breakfast Meeting this month.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said in its latest country report on Nigeria that the CBN’s unification of the country’s multiple exchange rates in June led to the sharpest devaluation of the naira in history.

The new exchange rate was classed by the central bank as a ‘managed float’, but there are inconsistencies in application to a more liberal currency regime as foreign-exchange access restrictions still apply to an array of imports, according to the EIU.

“This will unnerve foreign investors, and a backlog of foreign-exchange orders the CBN failed to clear before opening up the market and deeply negative real interest rates will keep liquidity tight,” it said.

Businessday

Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, the West African nation’s biggest miller, reported its first loss in about four years as naira’s depreciation increased the company’s cost of servicing overseas loans.

The Lagos-based company reported a loss of 10.2 billion naira ($13.2 million) in the three months to June 30, compared with a profit of 5.63 billion naira a year ago, according to a regulatory filing. The firm posted a foreign-exchange loss of 22.5 billion naira.

“Without the devaluation of the exchange rate, the operating profit would have increased by 52%,” Flour Mills said.

Six of the nation’s biggest companies announced a combined loss of $385 million early in the year after revaluing overseas loans and letters of credit following the naira’s 40% plunge. Nigeria’s government in mid-June allowed the currency to weaken as part of measures to attract overseas inflows and help revive the struggling economy.

Flour Mills said its finance costs doubled to 16.63 billion naira. Revenue rose 34% to 456.38 billion naira.

Still, the company’s shares surged 10% as of 2.30 p.m in Lagos, heading for their biggest gain since March 2021. Trading volume was seven times the average for the time of the day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Flour Mills look relatively undervalued compared to other food companies, Ayodeji Ajilore, analyst at ARM Investment Managers in Lagos said by phone. “Also, investors think the risk of foreign exchange (loss) has materialized for the company; so they don’t expect it to degenerate.”

Bloomberg

Chicago State University has locked its X microblogging handle from the general public as Nigerians intensify pressure on President Bola Tinubu’s controversial certificate from the institution.

With a padlock icon appearing on the account, a check by Peoples Gazette on Monday showed that only “confirmed followers” of the institution could see its tweets now, contrary to how it was before.

A notification telling the general public that the institution had locked its X handle from the general public reads: “These posts are protected. Only confirmed followers have access to @ChicagoState’s posts and complete profile. Tap the ‘Follow’ button to send a follow request.”

The Gazette could not verify why the institution allowed only its confirmed followers access to its timeline while restricting the general public from its content.

Chicago State University has yet to respond to the Gazette’s request seeking comments on the development, coming amid heated debates among Nigerian cybernauts on Tinubu’s academic records, with many calling out the institution on X.

Earlier in August, Atiku Abubakar requested court approval to subpoena Tinubu’s files domiciled with CSU because he believed the documents would clarify glaring inconsistencies in the president’s background, including publicly available documents that suggested the institution, in the 1970s admitted a female student bearing Bola Tinubu born on March 29, 1954.

In pushback against Abubakar’s legal move, which could expose his academic record, Tinubu also filed a motion to prevent a federal court in the United States from releasing his academic records to his principal opponent in the 2023 presidential election.

The institution had claimed that a clerk was responsible for irregularities that characterised a certificate the school reprinted in Tinubu’s name, according to court filings seen by The Gazette.

Amid the legal tussle in the U.S., Abubakar on Sunday mocked Tinubu, asking him to reveal how he obtained a degree from Chicago University without attending primary and secondary schools.

Atiku’s tweet sparked widespread reactions seeing the “AskTinubu” trend of X microblogging app on Sunday as Nigerians discuss Tinubu’s academic records.

PG

Burhan discusses Egypt mediation offer in talks with Sisi

Had ruled out negotiated deal with RSF foe the day before

Civilians caught in crossfire, dozens killed in Nyala

Sudanese military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met his Egyptian counterpart on Tuesday in his first trip abroad since the April outbreak of war in Sudan, a day after rejecting calls for fresh negotiations.

The two discussed President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's offer to mediate the conflict during a short meeting in the coastal city of El Alamein, an initiative Burhan said he welcomed, according to an Egyptian presidency statement.

On Monday, Burhan said the regular army he leads would vanquish the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and never sign a deal with them, dashing new hopes of talks to end a war that has plunged Sudan into overlapping humanitarian crises.

The visit represents the first time Burhan has left Sudan since the April 15 start of the conflict, which broke out amid discord over plans to integrate their troops into a single force as part of a transition to democracy.

Burhan is also expected to visit Saudi Arabia, which along with the United States had held meetings with the two sides that yielded ceasefire pacts that were all violated in short order.

In brief comments from El Alamein, Burhan said he wanted to end the war, but did not mention the possibility of talks.

"We ask the world to take an objective and correct view of this war. This war was started by a group that wanted to take over power, and in the process it has committed every crime that could come to mind," Burhan said.

The RSF has been accused of looting homes and raping dozens of women, according to activists and victims, and of ethnic warfare that has driven out hundreds of thousands of residents of El Geneina in West Darfur.

The RSF has denied the accusations but said that any of its fighters found involved in abuses would be brought to justice.

Two Egyptian security sources said that while the RSF had also said it welcomed the Egyptian initiative, which includes a call for a months-long ceasefire, it had appeared reluctant to take any further steps.

"The PR advantage is with Burhan," said a Western diplomat, adding that although Western nations see both sides of the conflict as belligerents, Burhan's appearances outside Khartoum would shore up his status.

Both the regular army and RSF have been accused of fighting in residential areas and indiscriminately firing heavy weapons, resulting in hundreds of civilians killed in the capital and other major cities. They both deny the allegations, accusing each other of targeting civilians.

In Nyala, capital of South Darfur and one of Sudan's most populous cities, fighting has cut off phone networks, electricity and humanitarian aid for weeks, with tens of thousands of residents trapped.

In one incident documented by medical aid agency MSF and local residents, about two dozen people, including multiple members of several families, died when caught in crossfire while hiding under a bridge on Aug. 23.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian drones attack Russian air base near Estonia

Ukrainian drones swept across Russia in overnight attacks that destroyed military aircraft and disrupted air traffic, Russian officials said early on Wednesday, hours after the funeral service for Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Attacks by unmanned aircraft were reported in Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov and Ryazan regions as well as the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, Russian officials said.

The most significant attack appeared to be in Pskov about 660 km (411 miles) north of the Ukrainian frontier, near the borders with Estonia and Latvia, where Russian officials said four Il-76 military transport planes were damaged.

Ukraine has stepped up its drone war in recent months, often hitting targets deep inside Russian territory in support of a ground offensive that is meeting stiff resistance on the southern and eastern front lines.

Footage published by Pskov's governor on the Telegram messaging app shows smoke rising from a large fire as the sounds of sirens and an explosion ring out. Other reports on Telegram channels showed anti-aircraft systems in action around the city, which is just 32 km (20 miles) east of the Estonian border.

"According to initial assessments, nothing serious has occurred but it is hard to determine that at night. If everything is in order, the airport will resume normal operations on Thursday," Governor Mikhail Vedernikov wrote on Telegram, adding that there were no injuries.

Tass news agency, quoting emergency services, said four Il-76 transport aircraft, long the workhorse of the Russian military, were damaged at the military airfield. Two of the planes "burst into flames", it added.

Russian military and defence officials said three Ukrainian drones were shot down over southern Bryansk region, one over central Orlov region and one over Ryazan region south of Moscow. The airspace around Moscow's Vnukovo airport was closed briefly, Tass reported.

A Russian aircraft also destroyed four Ukrainian fast-attack boats carrying up to 50 paratroopers in an operation on the Black Sea, the military said.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

MORE US AID

The drone attacks came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new package of military assistance to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in Feb. 2022.

The package includes additional mine-clearing equipment, missiles for air defence, plus ammunition for artillery and small arms, Blinken said in a statement.

Ukraine is using vast amounts of ammunition in some of the heaviest fighting of the war as its presses its summer counter-offensive in the south and east, where Russian forces are deeply entrenched.

On Tuesday the Russian mercenary chief Prigozhin was buried in a leafy cemetery on the outskirts of St Petersburg, six days after he was killed in an unexplained plane crash north of Moscow.

Prigozhin, two top lieutenants of his Wagner group and four bodyguards were among 10 people who died when his Embraer Legacy 600 private jet crashed in unexplained circumstances on Aug. 23.

He died two months after staging a brief mutiny against the Russian defence establishment, in the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putin's rule since he rose to power in 1999.

Moscow says it is investigating the crash and has denied any involvement, but in Washington White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gave her strongest statement yet about the possibility that Putin directed the killing.

"We all know that the Kremlin has a long history of killing opponents," she said. "It's very clear what happened here."

Russia informed Brazil's aircraft investigation authority that it would not probe the crash of the Brazilian-made Embraer (EMBR3.SA) jet under international rules "at the moment", the Brazilian agency told Reuters on Tuesday.

Russia’s aviation authority is not obligated to follow international investigation protocols as the flight from Moscow to St Petersburg was domestic.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Washington is waging war on Russia ‘to the last Ukrainian’ – Moscow

The US government has announced another round of military aid for Ukraine worth $250 million, including artillery shells, air defense munitions and mine-clearing equipment, among other gear. The latest weapons transfer comes as Kiev attempts a wave of attacks on Russian cities as part of its straggling summer offensive.

The State Department outlined the new lethal aid on Tuesday, noting that Ukraine would receive additional munitions for the HIMARS rocket system, AIM-9M air defense missiles, Javelin and other anti-tank weapons, as well as 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition.

Russia’s embassy in Washington later condemned the weapons transfer as “the height of hypocrisy,” saying US officials “will not give up the concept of fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian.”

The embassy went on to connect the aid to recent comments by US Senator Mitt Romney, who declared that American assistance to Kiev was helping to “weaken” both Russia and China at a bargain price, calling the aid “the best national defense spending I think we’ve ever done.”

“Without a second thought, [Romney] said bluntly that ‘the United States is diminishing and devastating the Russian military for a very small amount of money. We are losing no lives in Ukraine,’” the embassy continued. “His words dot the i’s and cross the t’s. The lives of citizens of other countries do not matter much.”

Drawn from existing stockpiles, the new $250 million arms package brings direct US military aid to Kiev to more than $43 billion since the conflict with Russia escalated last year. Despite significant support from Western sponsors, however, Ukrainian forces have struggled to reclaim territory in their much vaunted summer counteroffensive.

Though Kiev is aiming to capture a swath of land toward the Azov Sea coast in hopes of severing Moscow’s land bridge into Crimea, behind the scenes US intelligence officials have raised doubts about its chances for success, according to the Washington Post. Instead, officials believe Ukraine will fall “well short” of its “principal objective.”

Amid lagging efforts to reclaim land, Ukrainian forces have increasingly turned to strikes further into Russian territory, including a series of attempted drone bombings in Moscow in recent weeks. Early on Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses continued to intercept UAVs, and had repelled several coordinated attacks across five different regions.

** Russian MOD claims destruction of Ukrainian landing force

A Russian Navy attack jet has sunk four boats transporting a force of Ukrainian commandos, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced early on Wednesday.

“At around midnight on August 30, a naval aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed four military speedboats carrying a landing force of Ukrainian special operatives, numbering up to 50 men, in the waters of the Black Sea,” the Russian Defense Ministry statement said, without giving a more precise location.

Earlier this month, Moscow published a video of a Russian military jet destroying a Ukrainian speedboat off the coast of Snake Island, near Odessa.

The watercraft was identified as a Willard Sea Force boat, sold to Kiev a decade ago by the US-based Willard Marine. Ukraine had purchased several versions, capable of carrying anywhere from six to 26 troops each.

Last week, Ukrainian military intelligence claimed to have landed a group of commandos on the coast of Crimea, to raise a flag on the country’s independence day. The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment on the alleged incident, while some Russian social media reported the destruction of a Ukrainian raiding party in a firefight with local security forces.

Ukraine continues to claim Crimea, even though its residents had overwhelmingly voted to return to Russia in 2014, following the US-backed coup in Kiev.

Reuters/RT