Foreign Affairs

Eleven Nigerian Air Force personnel detained in Burkina Faso following an emergency landing could face life imprisonment if found guilty of espionage or sovereignty violations, according to sources close to the ongoing investigation. The warning comes amid a deepening diplomatic crisis, with the soldiers and their C-130 Hercules aircraft still held a week after the incident. The saga began on …

Six days after a Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft made a precautionary landing in Burkina Faso, the 11 military personnel on board have remained in detention as diplomatic efforts intensify to resolve the standoff. The soldiers and the aircraft were seized by the Burkina Faso military government over alleged violations of the Sahel country’s airspace. On Tuesday, the Government of …

,I just returned from a Congressional delegation to Nigeria with @HouseAppropsGOP. While there, we visited Benue State. We met with Bishops Anagbe and Dugu and Tor Tiv. We met with suffering IDPs who are all Christians. They are forced to live in camps that are regularly attacked by Fulani Islamic radicals. We heard heartbreaking stories from survivors of this horrific …

The United States is proposing a change to its visa-free travel programme which could impact millions of international travellers. Under new guidelines announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, individuals seeking entry through the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation will now be required to provide their social media history from the past five years. This proposed revision, published …

Maria Corina Machado, a pro-democracy activist, stepped onto the balcony of Oslo’s Grand Hotel shortly before 2.30am on Thursday after spending more than a year in hiding in Caracas. The 58-year-old was smuggled out of Venezuela with help from the US in defiance of a ⁠decade-long travel ban imposed by authorities in her home country, and after spending more than …

The army officer who led the coup in the Republic of Benin, Pascal Tigri, fled to Togo on Sunday to seek refuge. BBC reports that the officials of the Beninese government disclosed that Mr Tigri had fled after the coup to oust President Patrice Talon failed. The officials also disclosed that the government is aware of Mr Tigri’s current location …

“When we cried out that hunger was ke-ee-ling our children in the Sahel, they turned a deaf ear. When we screamed for help as thieves in white kaftans emptied our treasuries and fled with our wealth, they remained deaf. When we demanded just a fair share of the gold, uranium, and lithium being carted away to build foreign cities while …

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stepped in to sort out diplomatic issues around the Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft seized by the government of Burkina Faso. Recall that the Confederation of Sahel States, AES, had in a statement signed by Assimi Goita, the Mali junta leader, alleged that the NAF plane entered the airspace of Burkina Faso without clearance, …

The United States House Appropriations Committee has reaffirmed its commitment to tackling religious persecution worldwide — with a specific emphasis on Nigeria — declaring that America “will not look away as innocent lives are stolen.” The committee stated this in a message posted on its official X account on Wednesday, stressing that religious freedom remains a key priority in its …

The United States government has pledged to take action to protect religious freedom in Nigeria. The stance was highlighted on Wednesday by the House Committee on Appropriations through its official X handle, commenting on a post by Congressman Riley Moore, who visited Benue State to meet Christians in an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp affected by horrific violence. While in …