Headline

Niger Republic Impasse Splits ECOWAS Parliament

Published

2 years ago

August 12, 2023

The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, parliament was, on Saturday, divided over how best to address the political impasse caused by the coup in Niger Republic.

While some members advocated actions that would stem military intrusion into governance within the region, others said dialogue and diplomacy were the best ways to solve the crisis.

The positions were taken when the 22 parliamentarians held an extraordinary meeting, virtually, to discuss the Niger Republic impasse.

The members, who were against military action, put forward the fate that could befall the masses if the country was invaded by forces trying to dislodge the coupists.

Niger rep

Ali Djibo, from Niger Republic said already no fewer than 9,000 schools have been shut since the crisis, adding that the best solution was dialogue and that military action had never been the best option anywhere in the world.

Djibo said: “War will only compound the economic woes the peoples of the sub-region are already going through.

“As we speak, over a thousand trucks, loaded with goods, are stranded at the border.

“If a coup happened in Nigeria or Cote’d’Iviore tomorrow, where’s the ECOWAS going to mobilise troops to fight the Nigerian or Ivorian military? How many borders are we going to close?

“We must also bear in mind that if we’re applying the ECOWAS treaty, it should be applicable to all.”

For Awaji-Inombek Dagomie Abiante (Rivers), ECOWAS must pay keen attention and treat the root causes of coup in ECOWAS countries.

He said diplomacy must be used to resolve the problem.

Members of the ECOWAS Parliament rooting for military solution to the Niger Republic matter said dialogue and diplomacy had not tamed the spread of coup in West Africa.

One of them was Linda Ikpeazu, who said because there were no consequences in the past, especially in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, hence Niger Republic situation.

She stressed that with the current situation in the sub-region, nobody knows which country will be the next.

Adebayo Balogun, in his contribution, said ECOWAS Heads of States were not proposing a full scale war, but a military action to dislodge the junta.

He recalled that Niger was a signatory to ECOWAS’ revised protocol on non-military intervention.

Also, Bashir Dawodu said he believed that while dialogue is being pursued, the body should be opened to military option to put pressure on the coupists.

Meanwhile, he pointed out, those banking on Russia to defend the junta should know that Russia alone cannot do it.

Wase and Ndume

Two others, who spoke against military invasion of Niger Republic were Idris Wase and Ali Ndume.

Wase, the first Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of ECOWAS, berated President Bola Tinubu, the ECOWAS Chairman.

He accused the President of unilaterally closing the Nigerian-Niger border and cutting electricity without the approval of the Nigerian National Assembly.

Wase added: “When the Russia-Ukraine war started, people thought it was to be a sharp war.

“A year after, the war is still lingering on with the attendant economic squander and wanton destruction of lives and properties.

“The sub-regional military chiefs knows what they stand to benefit economically. That’s why they’re eager to militarily intervene in Niger. Most of them are corrupt.

“Any war on Niger will have adverse effects on 60% of Nigeria, especially Northern Nigeria.”

On his part, Senator Ndume said: “We are the representatives of the people. Whatever action that must be taken should be dependent on what our people want.

“The ECOWAS Chairman, President Tinubu, wrote the Nigerian Senate on the planned military intervention in Niger and the Red Chamber vehemently opposed the use of force. They prefer, instead, dialogue should be adopted in resolving the impasse.

“President Tinubu has no right to close the Niger-Nigeria border, cut electricity without the approval of the Nigerian National Assembly.

“It is not the Niger junta that are suffering the sanctions, rather it is innocent people.”

Headline

Australian Govt Official Declares ‘Red Wednesday’ Over Attack On Kwara Church

Published

23 hours ago

November 19, 2025

Editor

Chairman of the Australian Committee for NATO enlargement, Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn, has declared a ‘Red Wednesday’ as part of a global awareness campaign against alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Gunther made this known in a post on X while reacting to the recent attack on Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, in Kwara State.

Recall that terrorists on Tuesday invaded the church located in Eruku town, Ekiti Local Government Area of the state, and opened fire on worshipers.

According to reports, the resident pastor and some persons were killed while majority of the worshipers were taken away to unknown destinations.

Reacting, Gunther in his X post said the incessant attacks on Nigerian Christians “is unacceptable”.

He wrote, “I got this video sent of an Islamist attack on a church in Nigeria. Today is #RedWednesday the global awareness day against prosecution of Christians.”

Headline

Pope Decries Lack Of Political Will On Climate Change

Published

2 days ago

November 18, 2025

Editor

Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged “concrete actions” on climate change and complained that some leaders lacked the will to act, as he addressed religious dignitaries on the sidelines of the COP30 summit.

The Vatican released the American pope’s address to churches of the southern hemisphere assembled on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Belem, Brazil, in which he called the Amazon region “a living symbol of creation with an urgent need for care”.

“Creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat,” the pope said.

“One in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes. To them, climate change is not a distant threat, and to ignore these people is to deny our shared humanity,” he added.

“What is failing is the political will of some.”

The UN climate negotiations enter their final stretch this week, with nations split on key issues as government ministers began arriving Monday to take over negotiations.

“There is still time to keep the rise in global temperature below 1.5C, but the window is closing,” warned Leo, who called for “concrete actions” while championing the landmark Paris Agreement.

– Pope defends Paris Agreement –

The historic 2015 accord, from which US President Donald Trump has said he will withdraw the United States for the second time, aims to keep temperature rises “well below” 2C compared to pre-industrial levels and, if possible, to 1.5C.

The Paris Agreement was the “strongest tool for protecting people and the planet”, Leo said, decrying a lack of effort by some leaders, whom he did not name.

“True leadership means service and support on a scale that will truly make a difference,” he said, urging firmer climate action to bring about “stronger and fairer economic systems”.

“Let us send a clear global signal together: nations standing in unwavering solidarity behind the Paris Agreement and climate cooperation,” he said.

Since being made pope in May, the Chicago-born pontiff — who spent about 20 years as a missionary in Peru — has urged more pressure on governments to stop climate change.

Last month, during a climate conference near Rome, he called for an “ecological conversion” to help vulnerable communities.

October marked the 10-year anniversary of the late Pope Francis’s landmark climate manifesto “Laudato Si”, which appealed for action on human-caused global warming.

COP30, without the presence of the US government, is scheduled to end in five days, but groups of countries still disagree on many issues, including climate ambition, unilateral trade measures, and finance.

Some countries also want a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell welcomed what he called Pope Leo’s “strong message”.

“His words urge us to continue to choose hope and action,” he said.

Headline

Genocide: U.S. Lawmaker Alleges Tinubu Lying, Protecting Own Interest

Published

2 days ago

November 18, 2025

Editor

Riley Moore

…Congress to debate ‘Christian Persecution’ in Nigeria on Thursday

United States (U.S.) lawmaker, Riley Moore, has dismissed President Bola Tinubu’s denial of the targeted killing of Christians as “completely false”.

Moore said Tinubu’s denial was to “protect his interests,” adding that Nigeria’s political leaders were “complicit” in the killing of Christians.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Moore noted Tinubu’s statement, claiming that the “characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality” as incorrect.

Meanwhile, the Congress will, on Thursday, debate the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

This was as International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule (Intersociety) raised fresh claims 99 Christians were, again, killed in Nigeria in 14 days.

“Unfortunately, that is completely false. There are states in Nigeria that have blasphemy laws. People are facing the death penalty for blasphemy against Islam,” the U.S. lawmaker said. “I know President Tinubu is in a difficult position, and trying to protect his interests there in the country. But they are complicit in this to some degree or another for a statement like this.”

Moore cited the case of an Adamawa Christian farmer, Sunday Jackson, who was sentenced to death for defending himself against a killer herdsman.

“There is serious persecution in Nigeria,” Moore said.
CONGRESS is set to convene a hearing on Thursday to examine allegations of widespread persecution of Christians in Nigeria, following President Donald Trump’s recent decision to redesignate the country as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

The session will be led by Congressman Chris Smith, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, and a vocal advocate for stronger U.S. action on reported religious violence in Nigeria.

Smith previously introduced a congressional resolution naming the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as responsible actors in several attacks. The resolution recommends visa bans and asset freezes against members of the groups.

It also called on White House to classify “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” operating in states such as Benue and Plateau under the Entities of Particular Concern (EPC) framework established by the International Religious Freedom Act.

Witnesses scheduled to testify include Jonathan Pratt, senior bureau official at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, and Jacob McGee, deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour.

A second panel is expected to feature Nina Shea, senior fellow and director at the Centre for Religious Freedom; Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Makurdi Catholic Diocese; and Oge Onubogu, director and senior fellow for the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
INTERSOCIETY alleged in a statement yesterday that 99 Christians were killed within the last 14 days.

It stated that the killing occurred between October 28 and November 11, adding that 114 others were kidnapped by the group that carried out the action, called Jihadist militants.

The report was signed by the Head, Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi, and two human rights lawyers, Joy Igboeli and Ogochukwu Obi.