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U.S withdraws military aid from Niger, redirects to Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana

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The United States has officially transferred 12 armoured vehicles to the Armed Forces of Côte d’Ivoire, part of a broader support package originally designated for Niger before the July 2023 military coup disrupted bilateral ties.

In total, 36 armoured vehicles were reallocated to Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Ghana, following Washington’s suspension of military cooperation with Niger. The handover ceremony took place on April 10, 2025, signaling continued U.S. commitment to partnering with democratic and stable West African nations.

The shift in military aid comes amid Niger’s growing isolation under its ruling junta, the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), whose populist posture and fractured international relations have coincided with a worsening security crisis and rising terrorist control across parts of the country.

U.S. officials have reaffirmed their focus on supporting nations upholding democratic values, with Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Ghana now positioned as key allies in maintaining regional security across the Sahel and Gulf of Guinea.

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I’ll never go to Arise TV until he’s removed – Igbokwe on clash between Minister Umahi, Rufai

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A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Joe Igbokwe has vowed to steer clear of Arise Television until one of the TV’s presenters and show host, Rufai Oseni, is sacked.

Igbokwe’s remark followed a drama that ensued between the Minister of Works, David Umahi and Rufai during an interview on The Morning Show on Monday.

According to a trending video, the minister, who was furious over some questions that were put out to him by Rufai regarding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, asked the show host to keep quiet.

Umahi claimed he is a professor in the field of engineering and has vast knowledge regarding the federal government projects.

But Rufai became inquisitive and demanded to know the year the minister became a professor.

Reacting to the drama, Igbokwe in a Facebook post, said until Rufai is sacked, he will not appear on the TV station, stating that the station has “become a TV Station of anything goes.

“I will never go there again until Rufai Oseni is removed.

“The Animal Science graduate is making a mockery of Journalism. Televion Station is not a place for mediocres and noise makers”, the APC chieftain posted.

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Alleged Christian genocide: US Rep asks Trump to tag Nigeria ‘Country of Particular Concern’

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A lawmaker representing West Virginia’s Second District in the United States House of Congress, Rep Riley M. Moore, has written to President Donald Trump, asking the US government to immediately designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concerns, CPC.

The letter dated October 6, 2025, and addressed to Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, US Department of State in Washington DC, was sighted by Ekwutosblog on Tuesday.

In the letter, the lawmaker urged the US government to immediately halt sales of arms and all associated technical support to Nigeria until the “Nigerian government demonstrates that it is sufficiently committed to ending the reign of persecution and slaughter”.

Moore claimed that from January to September 2025 alone, no fewer than 7,000 Christians have been gruesomely murdered by “Muslim extremist groups”.

He alleged that at least 250 Catholic Priests have been attacked or killed across the country since 2015, stressing that “between Boko Haram uprising in 2009 and 2025, 19,100 churches in Nigeria have been attacked or destroyed”.

Ekwutosblog reports that President Trump had during his first tenure designated Nigeria as a CPC but his successor, former President Joe Biden reversed the designation.

 

US Senator Ted Cruz, television host Bill Maher, and political commentator Van Jones had also alleged that Nigeria is witnessing a “Christian genocide”.

During a recent podcast appearance with American talk show host Bill Maher, Senator Cruz alleged that Christians were being systematically targeted and killed in Nigeria, describing the situation as “genocide”.

But the Federal Government had since dismissed the report, stating that the deteriorating security situation in the country does not target a particular religion.

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, in a recent statement, described the allegations as false, misleading and capable of inciting division.

According to him, the foreign commentators were “orchestrating wild allegations about unproven ongoing genocide” in Nigeria and urged Nigerians and the international community to reject attempts to “robe the country with a garment that is not hers”.

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Subject: A cashier at a Kingsway store.

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Location: Lagos, Nigeria.
Date: Circa January 1962.

Photographer/Source: Pix/Michael Ochs Archives.
Significance: The image captures the era of Kingsway Stores, which symbolized modern and cosmopolitan life in West Africa in the early 1960s.
About Kingsway Stores

Origins: The chain began as Lever’s Stores in 1922, evolving through Opobo Stores Ltd before becoming Kingsway Stores Ltd in 1947.

Expansion: The first store in Nigeria opened in Lagos in 1948, followed by others in cities like Freetown, Accra, Ibadan, and Port Harcourt.

Impact: Kingsway Stores represented a modern, western-style shopping experience, with departments for various goods, and were a popular shopping destination for Nigerians.

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