Nigerian troops foil advance by terrorists riding about 200 motorcycles

Troops of Operation SAVANNAH SHIELD have foiled an advance by terrorists from Zamfara into Niger State, recovering an AK-47 rifle and 398 rounds of ammunition.

This is contained in an operational report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

The report said the operation followed credible intelligence on the movement of terrorists riding about 200 motorcycles towards Inana Village in Rijau Local Government Area of Niger.

It said the troops of 311 Army Reconnaissance Battalion, 18 Brigade, engaged the terrorists at Majai and Tungan Bisallah villages.

According to the report, the terrorists were forced to retreat, while troops recovered one AK-47 rifle, 395 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm NATO ammunition and three rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition.

“The troops also recovered one motorcycle and destroyed six others during the operation, while one soldier sustained injuries.

“In a related operation, troops responding to intelligence on terrorist activities mobilised towards Genu Village but made no contact with the fleeing terrorists,” it said.

The report revealed that troops of 27 Task Force Brigade, in conjunction with the Civilian Joint Task Force, killed a suspected ISWAP logistics courier and informant at Dallaballe Village in Gujba Local Government Area of Borno.

It said the operation, conducted on 10 August, followed human intelligence on the activities of the suspected terrorist informant.

In Taraba, the report said the troops of 93 Battalion and a Defence Intelligence Agency team recovered an AK-47 rifle and 10 rounds of 5.45 x 39mm NATO ammunition from the residence of a suspected gunrunner at Bantaje, Wukari Local Government Area.

It added that troops of Operation UDO KA raided a transport company in Aba South Local Government Area of Abia over suspected movement of military camouflage and other accoutrements.

According to the report, the operation led to the arrest of five suspects and the seizure of a luxury bus belonging to the company.

Premium Times

Indians now employ almost as many people in Nigeria as the government, and trade between both countries hits $9 billion

 

In 2024, Nigeria’s trade with the world’s most populous country, India, came in at $7.13 billion, according to the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abishek Singh.

The High Commissioner made the revelation in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, on Wednesday, noting that 2025’s figures significantly surpassed the $7.13 billion recorded in 2024.

He further revealed that around 200 Indian companies operating in the West African country are responsible for the creation of 100,000 jobs, making India the second-largest employer of Nigerian workers after the country’s own government.

According to the High Commissioner, this expansion in trade reflects the strengthening strategic partnership between the two nations, extending beyond traditional oil trade and historical ties to encompass investment, security, technology, agriculture, healthcare, and energy, among other sectors.

“Very happy to report that the trade for the financial year 2025-26 stands at around US dollar 9 billion, which is up from US dollar 7.13 billion in the financial year 2024-25,” Singh said.

And that makes these Indian companies the second-largest employer of Nigerian people after the Federal Government of Nigeria,” he added.

According to Singh, Nigeria and India have had long-standing ties based on anti-colonial solidarity, South-South collaboration, and mutual support for the Global South's voice.

“When I say Strategic Partnership, what does it mean? It means that India-Nigeria relations are no longer defined only by historical goodwill or oil trade,” he said.

The High Commissioner, as reported in The Punch, also revealed that the relationship between the two countries was evolving into a “multidimensional partnership” linking the heart of Africa with India.

Furthermore, the Indian official noted that his country has extended $395 million in concessional credit lines to Nigeria, alongside capacity-building initiatives administered through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation program.

Adding to what Singh had said, Vertika Rawat, India's Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, disclosed that pharmaceutical exports to Nigeria reached $315 million in the 2024–2025 fiscal year, accounting for more than 40% of the country's total pharmaceutical imports.

“India today supplies roughly 40% of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical imports, and for certain categories of medicine over 90%,” she said.

“This is what it means in practice for India to be the pharmacy of the world.

It means not only affordable medicines reaching Nigerian homes, but also manufacturing medicines in Nigeria for Nigerian homes,” Rawat added.

She noted that Nigeria could derive valuable insights from India's strategy for expanding health insurance coverage in its pursuit of universal healthcare.

By Chinedu Okafor, Business Insider Africa

Nigeria faith leaders sign peace accord months after Trump remarks

More than 50 Muslim and Christian leaders have signed an interfaith ​peace accord in Abuja, launching a new body to promote religious harmony across Nigeria.

Nigeria's more ‌than 200 million population is roughly evenly divided between a predominantly Muslim north and a largely Christian south, with other groups practicing traditional religions.

Focus on the religious divide was heightened last November when U.S. President Donald Trump called Nigeria a "disgraced country" ​and threatened military action over what he said was the treatment of Christians by "Islamic Terrorists".

Islamist insurgents such ​as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have wrought havoc in the ⁠country for more than 15 years, killing thousands of people, but their attacks have been largely confined ​to the majority Muslim northeast.
While Christians have been killed, the vast majority of the victims have been Muslims, ​analysts and rights groups say.


ACCORD WELCOMED BY FAITH LEADERS

No mention was made of Trump's comments in the official statements about the accord signed on Wednesday at a conference organised by the Muslim World League, an Islamic non-governmental organisation based in Saudi ​Arabia.
But the government and various other groups have been working to show progress on security since his remarks.

Muslim ​World League Secretary-General Mohammad Al-Issa said there was enthusiasm among the two faiths to "turn a new page".

"We do not deny ‌that ⁠extremist ideas have harmed everyone; all have been affected by it," he said.
Christian and Muslim leaders from Nigeria described the pact as a turning point.

John Praise Daniel, chairman of the Northern Christian Religious Leaders' Assembly, said he hoped it would curb divisive rhetoric by clerics.

"No hate speech, and no disrespect for other religious groups, ​no calling of people as ​infidels," he said.
Khalid Abubakar, ⁠secretary-general of Jama'atu Nasri Islam, said: "It is not a call to leave your own religion, but a cooperation of working together in harmony."

Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin ​represented President Bola Tinubu at the signing ceremony. Three northern state governors were ​also present.

Jibrin ⁠said on the opening day of the two-day event: "The government is determined to make sure that we remain united as a country, despite our differences, whatever the differences may be."

The accord comes ahead of the January 2027 election, ⁠when religion ​will again be a factor in Nigerian politics.

Tinubu's ruling All ​Progressives Congress is running on the same presidential ticket of two Muslims that it fielded in 2023, breaking Nigeria's long-standing practice of balancing ​presidential tickets between the country's two main faiths.

Reuters

Nigeria and Burkina Faso Explore Project BRIDGE to Cut Internet Costs by 50%

 

Nigeria and Burkina Faso are exploring a connectivity partnership that could reduce the cost of internet access in Burkina Faso by as much as 50%, as both countries seek to deepen digital cooperation.

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said the initiative was discussed during his visit to Ouagadougou, where he met Burkina Faso’s Minister for Digital Transition, Posts and Communication, Dr Aminata Zerbo-Sabané.

At the centre of the discussions was Project BRIDGE, Nigeria’s connectivity initiative aimed at expanding access to faster, more affordable and resilient internet infrastructure.

Under the proposed collaboration, technical teams from both countries will assess connectivity routes linking Nigeria to Burkina Faso through Nigeria-Niger-Burkina Faso and Nigeria-Benin-Burkina Faso corridors. The assessment is expected to identify a viable pathway for lowering Burkina Faso’s internet connectivity costs by up to half.

The two countries also agreed to establish a Technical Working Committee to develop an implementation framework for the partnership.

The cooperation will extend beyond fibre infrastructure to other areas of the digital economy. Nigeria and Burkina Faso plan to explore collaboration on digital skills and talent development, including the potential sharing of Nigeria’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) model.

The countries will also seek to strengthen ties between their startup ecosystems, support Burkina Faso’s Innovation Campus and collaborate on artificial intelligence, local-language technologies, shared computing infrastructure, cybersecurity and research.

Tijani said the engagement forms part of Nigeria’s broader outreach to neighbouring countries, following a recent visit to Benin Republic, with planned engagements in Niger and Chad.

The Nigerian government said the broader objective is to leverage the country’s expanding digital infrastructure and capabilities to support shared economic opportunities across borders, strengthen regional digital integration and position Nigeria as a digital gateway connecting West Africa and the Sahel.

By Akim Benamara, Tech Africa News

Nigeria considers crude supply reforms to aid Dangote, other refiners

Nigeria is considering changes to crude allocation and pricing rules to improve ‌feedstock access for its refiners, including Dangote Refinery, the local oil refiners' association said.

Dangote has previously said Nigeria's pricing structure adds $3 to $4 per barrel to feedstock costs for refiners because purchases ​are routed through producers' trading arms. Analysts say the main constraint in domestic ​crude transactions is pricing rather than physical availability.

The move could help ⁠boost operations at Dangote's 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery, Africa's largest, whose output has at ​times been constrained by difficulties securing sufficient crude supplies domestically.
The Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association ​of Nigeria (CORAN) said the proposed changes are expected to be discussed this week during a regulator-led review of Nigeria's domestic crude supply obligation, which requires producers to supply local refiners before exporting.

Under ​one proposal, a producer linked to an IOC's network could deliver crude directly ​to a nearby refinery, with volumes reconciled later at the terminal, said CORAN spokesperson Eche Idoko, ‌adding ⁠this would reduce reliance on trunklines and bring crude closer to refiners.

A second proposal would allow refiners that lift crude directly from production facilities to receive a discount reflecting the freight and handling costs embedded in Brent-linked pricing but not actually incurred ​by them.

"This could be ​a win-win for ⁠both the producers and refiners," said Idoko.

The Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) released data on Monday showing producer compliance with the domestic ​crude supply framework rose to over 90% from less than ​43% in ⁠the previous quarter.

The metric tracks actual deliveries against volumes allocated by the regulator, not refinery demand met. Under the scheme, producers must offer allocated volumes to local refineries, with ⁠sales ​agreed on a 'willing-buyer, willing-seller' basis.

A NUPRC official said ​the ideas "are on the table" largely at the urging of inland refiners, but added that implementation would require ​addressing crude quality differences and pricing adjustments.

By Isaac Anyaogu, Reuters