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Al-Qaeda Raid in Burkina Faso Signals Expanding West African War

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French soldiers

An attack by al-Qaeda militants at a hotel in the West African nation of Burkina Faso left at least 23 people dead and highlighted the militants’ shift to striking capital cities in the region.

Burkina Faso’s military rescued at least 126 hostages from the Splendid Hotel, which is popular with foreigners, on Saturday after the siege. It was the second attack claimed by al-Qaeda since gunmen took more than 100 people hostage in November at the Radisson Blu hotel in the capital of neighboring Mali, killing dozens.

French special forces helped Burkina Faso’s army in the operation, Interior Minister Simon Compaore said by phone. Among the victims were people from 18 countries. Four of the militants, including two women, are dead, Army spokesman Guy-Herve Ye said. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, led by the one-eyed former Algerian soldier Mokhtar Belmokhtar, said it carried out the siege that began on Friday at about 7 p.m. local time.

War Expands

The attack showed al-Qaeda’s growing ability to strike far from its traditional field of operations in northern Mali where it’s been fighting government troops, French soldiers and United Nations peacekeepers, backed by U.S. intelligence officials and special forces. President Francois Hollande has sent soldiers and fighter planes to former French colonies in Africa to repel the Islamists, whose attacks intensified in the semi-arid Sahel region with arms looted from Libya following the collapse of Muammar Qaddafi’s government in 2011.

“I think it’s just a matter of time, whether it’s in Abidjan, Accra, or Dakar,” Cynthia Ohayon, Burkina Faso analyst for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said by phone from Ouagadougou. “It happens in Paris and in Istanbul; it can happen anywhere.”
Roger Nikiema, a Burkinabe who was meeting friends at the Cafe Cappuccino in Ouagadougou, said they had just placed their order when the gunfire started.

“We all threw ourselves on the floor,” he said in an interview. “I was with six friends, three American girls and three guys. A bullet hit my arm and I have an injury there. I heard a female voice among the attackers.”

French Intervention

The latest attack came a day after al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia claimed to have killed 63 Kenyan soldiers in the southwest of the Horn of Africa country and two days after Islamic State said it carried out a gun-and-suicide bomb assault in central Jakarta, Indonesia.

As they did when they attacked the Radisson Blu in Mali, the militants said their latest raid was done in response to French intervention in the region that has led to the death of Muslims, according to a statement it sent to Mauritania’s al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday. AQIM disavowed Islamic State last week, saying the group’s caliphate in Syria is illegal and strays from the tenets of Islam.

“We killed 30 of the crusaders,” one of the attackers in Ouagadougou said in a recorded message sent to the newspaper. Al-Qaeda “will fight against France until the last drop of blood.”

AQIM and other militant groups stepped up their advance in northern Mali, a desolate, semi-arid area, after a coup by the army in 2012 created a power vacuum.

From its start in 2013, France’s military drive against the Islamists has expanded to almost 3,000 troops fighting militants from Mali to Niger and Chad, where the Nigerian group Boko Haram is active. AQIM’s Belmokhtar is believed responsible for the 2013 attack on a BP Plc plant in Algeria that left 38 dead.

Government officials in the region say militants and traffickers compete with each other to move drugs, goods and migrants through the Sahel and the Sahara, which is hard to patrol because of its desert-like temperatures and lack of roads.

Political Instability

Burkina Faso, Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer, has faced political instability in recent years. Formerly known as the Republic of Upper Volta, President Blaise Compaore was ousted in October 2014 after 27 years in power following widespread public demonstrations against him. A failed coup followed in September, and in November elections, Roch Marc Christian Kabore was voted into the presidency.

“The new government was appointed three days ago; the president took office two weeks ago,” said Ohayon of International Crisis Group. “There was a wave of optimism and this attack has dealt a huge blow to that. Burkina Faso serves as a symbol of progress in the region, because it’s an example of democratic consolidation and peaceful religious coexistence — and I think that’s what they want to destroy.”

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Government

Knocks, Kudos For Judiciary Over Stoppage of Allocations to Rivers State as Fubara Boasts of Coping Without FG’s Funds

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Siminalayi Fubara

A mixture of condemnation and praises has trailed a judgement of a Federal High Court that stopped the release of state allocations to the Rivers State Government.

Investors King had reported that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, ordered the stoppage of the release of monthly federal allocations to Rivers State.

Justice Abdulmalik predicated her action on the grounds that the state government was in violation of the Constitution as regarding the state expenditures.

According to the judge, the current budget being operated by the state was not passed by a lawful arm of the Rivers State House of Assembly, therefore, Fubara is not entitled to allocations from the government at the centre.

Meanwhile, some stakeholders in the country have knocked the judiciary over the decision, calling on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun to rein in on judges’ actions over the political crisis ravaging Rivers.

For former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the judiciary should be cautioned against setting the South-South State on fire.

In a statement by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, the former Vice President, said it was appalling that some elements loyal to the Federal Government were pulling the strings from behind.

Atiku wondered why Justice Joyce Abdulmalik issued the order when it was public knowledge that Rivers State had already challenged the Court of Appeal’s judgement on the legality of Rivers State’s 2024 budget.

He, however, called on Justice Kekere-Ekun to ensure that those found wanting are disciplined in order to restore the fading glory of the nation’s judiciary.

In the same vein, Chief Emeka Kalu, National Coordinator of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Coalition observed that the ongoing crisis plaguing Rivers State must be handled with caution to save it from unnecessarily being flamed in uncontrollable state of lawlessness.

Kalu in the statement said the judiciary is expected to maintain its integrity and protect her independence by working to avoid being politically purchased to harm democratic processes and the ethics of law.

According to him, the recent judgement by the Abuja Federal High Court division directing the RMAFC to stop releasing statutory monthly allocation to the State government was done out of bias and politically motivated plans to disrupt Fubara ‘s administration.

The group affirmed that it remains the height of injustice for a political party under the guise of personal interest to continue raising the dust of anarchy against the will of the people and the judiciary is expected to redeem and revitalize the failed system instead of allowing herself to be used to ruin the polity.

On the contrary, the National Democratic and Change Coalition has hailed the court for the judgment banning further release of allocations to Rivers and called on Governor Fubara to refund all monies spent without appropriation to the state coffers.

The coalition, while expressing satisfaction with the ruling, said the people of Rivers State have been vindicated and the long-awaited justice has been served on the governor.

Reacting via a press release by John Uloko, president of the coalition hailed Justice Joyce Abdulmalik for the judgment, saying that since January 2024, Rivers State had received and spent allocations based on an “illegitimate” budget, thereby describing it as a “constitutional aberration”.

The group, made up of lawyers, agreed with the court that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget before a four-member Rivers House of Assembly was an affront to the constitutional provision.

It added that the ruling is a victory for democracy and will teach rogue governors the bitter lesson that the Constitution of the Federal Republic must be respected and the sanctity of the nation’s democratic institutions upheld irrespective of their political desperation.

Nonetheless, the embattled Governor Fubara, on Wednesday said the restriction placed on the state allocations is “the least” of his problems.

Governor Fubara stated this during a special thanksgiving service organised by the state government to celebrate his administration’s resilience amid escalating political crises, which began with the arson attack on the State House of Assembly complex exactly one year ago.

Governor Fubara assured that despite the court order, his administration would continue payments to contractors and ensure workers’ salaries are disbursed from today (Thursday).

He also confirmed that allocations for the 23 Council Chairmen would be credited, as the Joint Accounts Allocation Committee procedures have been completed.

The governor encouraged his supporters to remain resilient, assuring them that all challenges are surmountable.

Reflecting on his administration’s success, Governor Fubara noted that despite predictions that his government would not last even a week, he has successfully led for over a year.

He said his administration has also conducted local government elections against all odds and maintained a full cabinet despite attempts to undermine his leadership through resignations.

Highlighting his administration’s progress, he mentioned ongoing project executions across the state, countering critics who claimed he would be unable to deliver.

He also cited recent reports that position Rivers State as one of the leaders in financial accountability and transparency.

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Court Bars FG From Giving Monthly Allocation To Rivers Government

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Siminalayi Fubara

The Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the Federal Government of Nigeria from giving monthly constitutional allocation to Rivers State Government.

Specifically, the court presided over by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Accountant General of the Federation, Zenith Bank and Access Bank from further allowing Fubara to access money from the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Account.

Justice Abdulmalik stated while delivering the order on Wednesday that further release of monthly financial allocations to the Rivers State government is unconstitutional and an aberration.

The court maintained that the previous collection and disbursement of monthly allocations since January this year by Governor Siminalayi Fubara is a constitutional somersault and aberration that must not be allowed to continue.

The judge anchored his decision on the manner in which Governor Fubara presented the 2024 budget, stressing that the presentation of the fiscal document before a 4-member Rivers House of Assembly was an affront to the Constitutional provision.

He said that Fubara action in implementing unlawful budget smacked gross violations of the 1999 Constitution he swore to protect.

Abdulmalik then stopped the CBN, the Accountant General of the Federation, Zenith Bank and Access Bank from further allowing Fubara to access money from the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Account.

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Senate Postpones Screening Of Ministerial Nominees, Gives Reasons

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Senate President Akpabio

Nigerian Senate has shifted the scheduled screening for ministerial nominees, initially set for today.

The postponement of the exercise to Wednesday is to enable the nominees provide all needed documents as well as allow for sufficient time to complete their documentation and pre-screening processes.

The announcement was contained in a statement signed on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado.

According to Lado, the screening will hold on Wednesday, at 12:00 pm.

Lado, while explaining the reason for the postponement said the scheduled screening of ministerial nominees was shifted by the Senate, adding that it is to allow all nominees to conclude all aspects of documentation and pre-screening exercises.

He said the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters thanked the public for their understanding and cooperation.

Recall that the Special Adviser to the President had on Monday disclosed in a statement that the screening will hold today.

President Tinubu had written the Senate, seeking the screening and subsequent confirmation of appointments of seven ministerial nominees announced in Abuja last Wednesday.

Tinubu’s request was contained in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and read last Thursday during plenary.

According to the letter, the ministerial nominees were Dr Nentawe Yilwatda, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, Minister of Labour and Employment; and Bianca Odinaka Odumegu-Ojukwu, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs.

Others were Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Development; Idi Muktar Maiha, Minister of Livestock Development; Rt Hon Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, Minister of State, Housing; and Dr Suwaiba Said Ahmad, Minister of State, Education.

President Tinubu in the letter had sought expeditious consideration of his request by the Senate.

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