World
Brice Nguema, Gabon coup leader and Bongo’s cousin, sworn in as interim president
Brice Oligui Nguema, leader of Gabon’s military junta, has been sworn in as the country’s interim president.
Nguema, who was the head of the country’s presidential guard, led a group of soldiers to seize power from President Ali Bongo last Wednesday after a controversial election.
The military officers had cited institutional, political, economic, and social crises as reasons for the coup.
After announcing that Bongo had been ousted, the soldiers, who identified themselves as members of the Committee of Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), said they were dissolving “all the institutions of the republic” and closing the country’s borders.
However, on Saturday, the coup leaders reopened the borders, saying they were “concerned with preserving respect for the rule of law, good relations with our neighbours and all states of the world” — and wanted to keep “international commitments”.
WHO IS NGUEMA?
While Nguema seems to enjoy some popular support, evident from the crowds of cheering civilians turning up at his inauguration, there have been concerns that the general’s rule will be a continuation of the Bongo family’s 53-year hold on power.
Bongo became president when Omar, his father, died after ruling from 1967 to 2009.
The coup was believed to have punctuated the family’s dynasty but Nguema has been reported to be Bongo’s cousin.
Albert Ossa, leader of the country’s opposition, had described the coup as a “family affair” and a “palace revolution” aimed at keeping them in power.
“Oligui Nguema is Ali Bongo’s cousin. The campaign was 60 years of Bongo is too much. The Bongos have decided to put Ali Bongo aside and continue their system by putting in place a Bongo CEO system,” he said.
“And they have put forward Oligui Nguema. In this way the Bongo system continues.”
Nguema has also been accused of corruption.
According to a 2020 investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) on the Bongo family’s assets in the United States, Nguema invested in real estate.
He was said to have bought three properties in middle and working class neighbourhoods in the Maryland suburbs of Hyattsville and Silver Spring, just outside the capital, in 2015 and 2018.
The homes were purchased with a total of over $1 million in cash.
The general was said to have been a strong ally of Omar before his death but was later dismissed from the inner circle of the Bongo family, after Ali assumed power.
While the opposition had thanked the army for standing up against what it described as “an electoral coup”, it is now urging the junta to complete the counting of ballots and install Ossa as the “rightful winner”.
There has been no mention of a return to civilian rule by the junta.
World
Nigeria reopens embassy in North Korea after pandemic closure
Nigeria has resumed operations at its embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea, after a closure that began in early 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The embassy’s reopening makes Nigeria the second African nation, following Egypt, to maintain a diplomatic presence in North Korea.
According to NK News, while the embassy was closed, Nigeria and North Korea continued diplomatic ties through Nigeria’s mission in Abuja.
The Nigerian embassy in Pyongyang had suspended activities due to strict travel restrictions imposed by North Korea during the pandemic, which halted embassy operations and led to the departure of most foreign diplomats.
Reports inform that Patrick Imodu Imologhome has been appointed as Nigeria’s charge d’affaires in Pyongyang. He arrived in December 2024, officially marking the reopening of Nigeria’s diplomatic mission.
The Russian Embassy in Pyongyang confirmed his arrival and noted that he met with Russian Ambassador Alexander Matsegora on December 11th to discuss matters related to the Korean Peninsula.
Additionally, the Chinese Embassy reported that Ambassador Wang Yajun met Imologhome on December 13th, though the discussion was focused on strengthening China-Nigeria relations.
Imologhome’s appointment was confirmed by Nigeria’s foreign ministry earlier in April 2023, although details regarding the appointment of a full ambassador have not yet been released.
North Korea and Nigeria have maintained diplomatic relations despite the closure of Nigeria’s embassy. According to reports, North Korea’s ambassador to Nigeria, Jon Tong Chol, has remained in Abuja throughout the pandemic.
Ambassador Jon has met with Nigerian officials on several occasions, including discussions about public health cooperation in 2020 and calls for increasing parliamentary exchanges in 2023.
Since his appointment in 2018, Ambassador Jon has been involved in diplomatic exchanges with Nigeria, though the details of their discussions have generally not been disclosed to the public.
According to NK News, concerns have arisen over potential sanctions violations related to North Korea’s activities in Nigeria. Reports from the U.N. Panel of Experts have suggested that North Korea’s Haegumgang Trading Corporation attempted to arrange the sale of military equipment worth $3.5 million to Nigeria in late 2022.
Additionally, there have been reports of North Korea using Nigerian intermediaries in money-laundering schemes, despite international sanctions against Pyongyang.
Though Nigeria claims to have complied with U.N. sanctions requiring the expulsion of North Korean workers by December 2019, some workers reportedly remained in Nigeria.
These developments have raised questions about ongoing illegal activities despite the formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.
World
Mexican mayor, three others found dead in vehicle
A mayor in Mexico’s central San Luis Potosi state, who was a member of the ruling Morena party, was shot dead on Sunday along with three other people, local authorities said.
Jesus Eduardo Franco, mayor of Tancanhuitz municipality, and the three other victims were all found dead inside a vehicle, according to the state prosecutor’s office.”We deeply regret the death of our colleague Eduardo Franco, municipal president of Tancanhuitz,” Morena party president Rita Rodriguez wrote on X.
“We ask authorities to reach the ultimate consequences and find those responsible,” she added.
Dozens of local officials have been targeted in organised crime-related violence that has plagued Mexico in recent years.
Local media reported last month that Alejandro Arcos, a mayor in southern Guerrero state, was decapitated less than a week after taking office and his head placed on top of a pickup truck.
More than 450,000 people have been murdered and thousands have gone missing since the Mexican government deployed the army to combat drug trafficking in 2006, according to official figures.
World
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger to permanently exit ECOWAS in 2025
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic will cease to be members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from 2025.
Alieu Touray, president of ECOWAS commission, made the announcement on Sunday during the 66th ordinary session of heads of states and governments in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
“After deliberations, their excellencies, the authority members of the authority of ECOWAS, heads of state and government, commend the exemplary diplomatic engagement of His Excellency Bassirou Diomaye Faye, President of the Republic of Senegal, and His Excellency Faure Gnassingbé President of the Togolese Republic, and the diplomatic efforts of the chairman of authority, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other individual member states towards these three countries,” he said.
“The authority takes note of the notification by Bukina Faso, Republic of Mali and the Republic of Niger of their decision to withdraw from ECOWAS. The authority acknowledges that in accordance with the provisions of Article 91 of the revised ECOWAS treaty, the three countries will officially cease to be members of ECOWAS from 29 January, 2025.
“The authority decides to set the period from 29 January, 2025 to 29 July 2025 as a transitional period and to keep ECOWAS doors open to the three countries during the transition period.
”In this regard, the authority extends the mandate of President faure Gnassingbé of Togo, and President Faye of Senegal to continue their mediation rule up to the end of the transition period to bring the three member countries back to ECOWAS.”
Touray said withdrawal formalities would be launched after the January 29, 2025 deadline.
He said a contingency plan covering various areas would be drawn up.
“The authority directs the council of ministers to convene an extraordinary session during the second quarter of 2025 to consider and adopt both separation modalities and the contingency plan covering political and economic relations between ECOWAS and the Republic of Niger, the Republic of Mali and Burkina Faso,” he said.
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