Bracing for Boko Haram militia threat: New aircraft for Nigerian Air Force is finally home The final batch of six A-29 Super Tucanos destined for the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) have left the United States, and arrived in Nigeria on Friday. The six aircraft, out of an order for 12,...
Confirmed resistance to front-line malaria drugs in Africa, may put a damper on rising vaccine hopes
Scientists have confirmed that malaria parasites in Africa have developed resistance to a key family of drugs used to protect against them. “We’ve all been expecting and dreading this for quite some time,” says Leann Tilley, a biochemist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, who researches the molecular basis...
Chinese greed: Red alert out on the damage illegal fishing is doing to Africa’s ‘blue economy’
Maritime security experts warn that illegal fishing is undermining Africa’s “blue economy” that covers the continent’s fisheries, tourism, aquaculture, transport, ports and oil drilling. The African Union Development Agency (AUDA) says development of blue economy is critical to the continent’s prosperity. “Africa is one of the most blessed continents in...
Nigeria’s Presidential Air Fleet receives first of two AW189 helicopters
The Nigerian Presidential Air Fleet has received the first of two new AW189 VIP helicopters from Italy’s Leonardo Helicopters. The AW189 is painted in the colours of the Nigerian Air Force’s Presidential Air Fleet. The second AW189, expected to be delivered soon, was also seen painted in the colours of...
Ecowas bloc suspends Guinea for ‘loss of faith in democracy, making military coups more likely
West Africa’s main political and economic bloc has suspended Guinea’s membership following a weekend military coup that ousted President Alpha Conde and dealt the latest in a flurry of setbacks to democracy in the region. During a virtual summit, leaders from the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas)...
Ex-Boko Haram fighters surrender: Nigeria torn between pardoning killers or bringing them to justice
A surge of surrenders by Boko Haram jihadists in north-eastern Nigeria has turned the spotlight onto how the government deals with fighters who claim to have repented and are now – controversially – looking to be reintegrated into a society scarred by 12 years of war. The New Humanitarian visited...
Undercover journalist exposes Swazi army commander plot to kill newspaper editor
Eswatini’s army commander, General Jeffrey Shabalala, abruptly resigned on Monday after a police sergeant friend of his released secret audio recordings of him allegedly plotting to kill a newspaper editor. In the recordings, Shabalala can also be heard revealing that King Mswati III had put pressure on security forces to...
Nigeria launches secret plan to lure top Boko Haram commanders out of the bush
Editor’s note: This story was based on six months of reporting and research. Government officials, former jihadists, analysts, journalists, displaced people, and civil society workers were interviewed, but nearly all asked to have their names withheld or altered due to security concerns. Malam Aliyu* lives in a neat, two-bedroom house...
Africa’s first youth games raise hopes the continent is getting ready to host Olympic Games
For decades, African athletes have travelled all over the world to take part in the Olympic Games. At the recent Tokyo Games, they took home gold, silver and bronze medals. And yet Africa has never hosted the Games, and some people are asking what it would take for the Olympics to be held on...
Terrorism: Taliban power grab in Afghanistan raises Islamist insurgency worries and fears in Africa
The return of the Taliban in Afghanistan has taken the world by surprise. In Africa, it compounds the worry and fear in countries struggling to crush Islamist insurgencies. For over a decade now, there’s been a surge in the activities of extremist groups in East and West Africa, the Sahel...
