The Raging Information Battle in Nigeria
Nigeria is facing a host of coordinated and deceptive foreign information campaigns intended to shape public perceptions of insecurity, governance, and Nigeria’s regional partnerships. … Nigeria may be particularly susceptible to these foreign information-influence campaigns since Nigerians use social media platforms for news more than any other source, and at the highest rate (79 percent) recorded globally. Unsurprisingly, Nigerians also reported the highest global level of concern about fake and misleading information. … Nigeria’s population, economic weight, democratic system, and regional leadership make it an attractive target for foreign authoritarian actors. … The information operations targeting Nigeria seek to exploit grievances to weaken confidence in elections and democratic institutions, discourage civic participation, intensify social divisions, undermine Nigeria’s regional leadership, and make authoritarian alternatives appear reasonable or inevitable. … Nigeria’s greatest advantage against foreign information operations is the breadth and vibrancy of its media and information networks. … Nigerian government officials, fact-checkers, investigative journalists, election observers, digital-rights groups, researchers, and local leaders are monitoring information manipulation, exposing covert networks, informing audiences, and experimenting with new ways to build resilience. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Somali Pirates Killed Oil Tanker Crew before Rescue, Official Tells BBC
Five crew members of an oil tanker seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia were killed before local security forces retook the vessel, a senior regional official has told the BBC. Puntland Deputy Information Minister Bile Qabowsade said the five were killed by pirates before regional forces boarded MT Hoarner 25. He said the dead included three Pakistani nationals, one Indian and one national of Myanmar. Four other crew members were injured, including three Pakistanis and one Indian. The tanker, which was carrying about 18,500 barrels of oil destined for the Somali capital, Mogadishu, was seized in April by six armed men while sailing off the coast of Somalia. Sixteen suspected pirates have been arrested, while others escaped and were being pursued, officials said. BBC
Sudan’s Army Chief Affirms Solidarity with Saudi Arabia over Houthi Attacks
Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan spoke by telephone on Tuesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, voicing support for Riyadh following a surge in attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement, officials said. Cross-border strikes against Saudi targets have escalated this month after the Iran-aligned Houthis announced in July what they termed a maritime blockade on the kingdom, claiming several drone and ballistic missile launches against Saudi territory and vessels. Burhan, who heads Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council and commands the armed forces, condemned the strikes and backed security measures Riyadh took to safeguard its borders, the council said in a statement. … Ties between Riyadh and Khartoum have grown closer in recent years as Saudi Arabia has maintained diplomatic and political backing for the military-led government as Sudan’s recognized authority. Sudan Tribune
Son of Zambian Bishop Detained in Post-election Raid Fears for His Father’s Safety
[Video] The son of detained Zambian opposition politician Bishop Trevor Mwamba has told the BBC he is concerned for his father’s safety after the former Bishop of Botswana was detained along with 10 other opposition figures by authorities. Eno Mwamba said his father, who is leader of the United National Independence Party, has been charged with treason following President Hakainde Hichilema’s disputed election victory. The opposition politicians have been held since a raid by security forces on 14 August. Opposition leader Brian Mundubile, head of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP), had gone into hiding after disputing the election result, but has since also been detained by the authorities. The government accuses the opposition of planning an armed insurgency and has charged the detained politicians with treason. They have denied the charges. BBC
South Sudan: 2018 Peace Deal Remains Key Legal Instrument, Says AU C5
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has said South Sudan’s 2018 peace agreement remains the country’s “paramount legal instrument”, as regional leaders urged all parties to comply with the deal ahead of elections due in December. Ramaphosa made the remarks on Tuesday while closing a virtual summit of the African Union’s High-Level Ad Hoc Committee on South Sudan, known as the C5, which also involved members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU). South Africa chairs the C5, which comprises South Africa, Algeria, Chad, Nigeria and Rwanda. The committee supports efforts to advance peace and the implementation of South Sudan’s Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), signed in 2018. … The regional leaders urged the South Sudanese government to release people arbitrarily detained on political grounds, while respecting the country’s sovereignty and judicial processes, and to guarantee the rights, humane treatment and due process of people facing judicial proceedings. Radio Tamazuj
Tanzania: Court Sets November 6 for Lissu Treason Verdict
Tanzania’s High Court will deliver its judgment on November 6 in the treason case against Chadema national chairman Tundu Lissu. This is after a three-judge panel said it needed time to consider the evidence and final submissions presented during the year-long trial. Justice Dunstan Ndunguru, who heads the panel, said the court had completed hearing the case after the prosecution and defence made their final submissions on Tuesday. … The conclusion of the trial follows four days of final submissions by Mr Lissu, who began presenting his arguments on September 23 and concluded on September 28. Lissu argued that the prosecution had failed to establish the charge against him based on the evidence presented in court. The East African
Morocco’s King Appoints the Country’s First Female Prime Minister
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Tuesday named Urban Planning Minister Fatima Zahra Mansouri as the country’s prime minister, making the 50-year-old attorney the first woman to hold the position in the Muslim kingdom. Mansouri, who until her nomination also was the mayor of Marrakech, was tasked with forming a new government, the Royal Palace said in a statement. The announcement came four days after results of parliamentary elections were announced, with Mansouri’s centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party, or PAM, the highest vote-getter. Mansouri, the second woman to serve as prime minister in the Arab world after Najla Bouden in Tunisia, is expected to build a coalition in coming days to form a government. Morocco’s electoral system makes it difficult for a single party to win an absolute majority. AP
Dangote to Launch $16bn Refinery in Kenya
Africa’s richest man was set to break ground on a new $16-billion mega-refinery in Kenya on Wednesday that he says will mark a vital step towards the continent’s self-sufficiency in fuel. Aliko Dangote created Africa’s biggest oil refinery in his native Nigeria and the east African version will have a capacity of 700,000 barrels per day — larger than any in Europe. It is being built on the Indian Ocean coast at Lamu, also the site of a deepwater port, with a target of 30 months for completion. The refinery project has already faced a lawsuit from a local community over land rights. A court ruling published on Monday said the ground-breaking could go ahead, but the case will continue. … He had initially considered building his refinery in Tanzania but finally chose Lamu for its deep seaport and “solid land”, he told reporters on Tuesday. He framed the refinery as a vital step towards Africa reducing its reliance on imports of refined fuel and foreign expertise. … He said the refinery would also include a 1,000-megawatt power facility, with half the production going back into the Kenyan grid. AFP
Ivory Coast Clamps Down on Harmful Illegal Gold Rush
As across much of west Africa, particularly Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali, Ivory Coast is experiencing a boom in both legal and illegal artisanal gold mining, the latter of which the government has condemned as a “scourge”. Besides damaging the environment and the health of locals nearby, the profits from illegal mining help finance the jihadists and armed groups running rampant across the neighbouring Sahel region, according to experts. The black market for irregularly mined gold represents millions of dollars that would have otherwise ended up in the Ivorian state’s coffers. The government toughened prison sentences this month to up to 20 years, stepped up surveillance measures and increased the number of brigades deployed in a bid to tackle the issue. … Since 2021, nearly 4,500 people, 65 percent of them foreigners, were dragged before the courts on irregular mining charges, according to official statistics. Over that time, the authorities have dismantled 8,500 illegal pits. AFP
UN Security Council Extends Haiti Mission by 6 Months
The United Nations Security Council voted on Tuesday to extend by six months the work of the gang suppression force deployed to combat violent criminal syndicates ravaging Haiti. … Haiti is preparing to hold its first presidential and legislative election since 2016, and a referendum on the constitution, on December 13. The resolution adopted Tuesday emphasized “the importance of ensuring security conditions conducive to holding free and fair elections.” The GSF replaced the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission, which was seen as under-equipped and underfunded. It was intended to be more robust, but as of July comprised fewer than 1,000 personnel, from Chad, Mongolia, Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador and Sri Lanka. AFP
African Leaders to Gather In Egypt for Business Summit
African leaders will meet in Egypt on Friday for a business summit that Cairo hopes will bolster its clout across the continent. The inaugural three-day Alamein Africa Forum is part of Egypt’s push to reassert itself in a continent where China and Gulf states, particularly the United Arab Emirates, have emerged as major players. After long focusing on the Middle East and the Mediterranean, Egypt is keen to rebuild its influence within Africa. It has also sought to rally backing in its long-running dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which it sees as a threat to its vital share of Nile waters. … “This is an African platform,” Egypt’s deputy foreign minister for African affairs Mohamed Abu Bakr Saleh told AFP. … Saleh said the forum would become a biennial event under an African Union mandate, focusing on infrastructure, trade, agriculture, healthcare, mining, technology and renewable energy. AFP
Africa’s Space Ambitions Are Moving from Policy to Practice
The Africa Space Expo (ASPEX), which closed in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, last week, was not designed as a showcase for rockets and astronauts. Organisers presented it instead as a marketplace for space applications in food security, climate resilience, territorial monitoring, connectivity and maritime security, bringing start-ups, project labs and investors together to move ideas from demonstration to deployment. The event also produced several concrete agreements. The Ivory Coast signed the Artemis Accords, becoming the 75th signatory of the agreement on space exploration and development, while Angola signed a letter of intent on space cooperation with the United Arab Emirates. Al Jazeera