The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the Economic Community of West African States Mediation and Security Council, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has raised concerns over the apparent inclusion of all ECOWAS member states in a new wave of United States visa restrictions, describing the policy as a significant barrier to trade, diplomacy, and regional prosperity.

Speaking at the opening of the 54th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council at the Ministerial Level in Abuja on Wednesday, Tuggar warned that such restrictions could stifle efforts to deepen US-West Africa relations, particularly at a time when the region is ripe for economic cooperation and security collaboration.

The minister expressed concern, “It would be most unfortunate if it comes to pass, because we are a region of opportunities ready to do deals.

“We would like to do deals with the US, but visa restrictions are non-tariff barriers to deals.”

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Tuggar framed the policy not only as a diplomatic misstep but also as an economic missed opportunity, especially given ECOWAS’s vast resource base.

“We possess critical minerals and even rare earths such as Samarium from the Monazite found in my home State of Bauchi.

“We in this part of the world are students of the Art of the Deal and have been part of the international trading system even before the modern state system,” he added.

He further called on Washington to re-evaluate its approach, stressing that West Africa is not lacking in potential partners.

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“ECOWAS countries and the US have a rare opportunity to create a partnership based on principles of need. We are also a strategic alternative to more distant and politically divergent energy producers.

“We will do deals for our prosperity; the only question is with whom? Who takes up the opportunities in our region by allowing government officials and technocrats, business executives and entrepreneurs to travel freely back and forth to close the deals?” he questioned.

United States President Donald Trump is considering imposing a travel ban on Nigeria and a host of other countries, mostly from Africa.

The affected countries are expected to meet new requirements laid down by the State Department within 60 days.

“The new list includes Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

“The memo identified varied benchmarks that, in the administration’s estimation, these countries were failing to meet. Some countries had “no competent or cooperative central government authority to produce reliable identity documents or other civil documents,” or they suffered from widespread government fraud.”

A United States of America court has sentenced five Nigerians to over 159 years of combined jail term for defrauding over 100 Americans, companies and government entities to the tune of $17m.

This was contained in a statement obtained on the US Department of Justice website on Wednesday and signed by acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, Ray Combs.

The statement noted that the defendants, Damilola Kumapayi, Sandra Iribhogbe, Edgal Iribhogbe, Chidindu Okeke and Chiagoziem Okeke, were part of a transnational organised crime group.

The attorney stressed that the defendants began the scheme in 2017 and targeted elderly and vulnerable people by deploying several schemes to obtain money from their victims and in some cases, the life savings of these victims.

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Comb stated, “The defendants coordinated how to extract money from their victims, and then how to disguise, disburse, and launder that money once they successfully defrauded their victims.

“The scheme resulted in approximately $17 million fraudulently obtained from at least 100 individual victims, companies, and government entities from across the world. The scheme specifically targeted elderly persons and used various schemes, such as online dating sites, to lure their victims.

“Once funds were obtained from their victims, the defendants laundered the money through a network of various bank accounts and sent money to bank accounts, co-conspirators and businesses located in Africa and Asia.”

Following their arrest, they were arraigned on multiple counts bordering on conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering, which they pleaded guilty to.

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Upon their guilty plea, they were sentenced by US District Judge Amos Mazzant to different years of jail terms.

“Damilola Kumapayi, 39, of Plano, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 109 months in federal prison.

“Sandra Iribhogbe Popnen, 50, of Plano, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 365 months in federal prison.

“Edgal Iribhogbe, 51, of Allen, was found guilty at trial of conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 480 months in federal prison,” Combs stated.

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He added, “Chidindu Okeke, 32, of Houston, was found guilty at trial of conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 480 months in federal prison.

“Chiagoziem Okeke, 32, of Houston, was found guilty at trial of conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 480 months in federal prison.”

The attorney stated that the sentencing was part of the US efforts to track down fraudsters who prey on its citizens, stressing that America remains resolute in bringing such fraudsters to justice.

“Transnational organised criminals targeting the hard-earned savings of elderly and vulnerable populations are simply despicable.

“The defendants’ lengthy sentences in this case reflect the seriousness of their crimes and the dedication of law enforcement officers and prosecutors to bring them to justice,” Combs concluded.

Iran said Wednesday it had detained five suspected agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online, Iranian news agencies reported.

“These mercenaries sought to sow fear among the public and tarnish the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran through their calculated activities online,” the Tasnim and ISNA news agencies quoted a statement from the Revolutionary Guards as saying.

They added that the arrests had been made in the western province of Lorestan.

The arrests came as Iran traded fire with Israel for a sixth day following the aerial assault on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, as well as residential areas, which it launched last week.

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Iran announced on Friday that it was placing temporary restrictions on the internet for the duration of the conflict. Numerous sites and apps have since been at least partially inaccessible.

The authorities appealed to the public on Tuesday to “minimise their use of equipment connected to the internet and to take appropriate precautions” online.

For their own safety, civil servants and their security teams have been banned from using any connected devices, including smartphones, watches, and laptops, during the Israeli air offensive.

State television appealed to Iranians on Tuesday to delete WhatsApp from their phones, charging that the messaging app gathers users’ location and personal data and “communicates them to the Zionist enemy.”

AFP