International
Leaders of AU, ECOWAS meet over Adamant Niger junta
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and African Union (AU) leaders were locked in a meeting yesterday as the deadline set by the regional bloc for the Niger junta to return President Mohamed Bazoum to power expired yesterday. The meeting was virtual.
Also, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu met with governors of states that share a boundary with the Niger Republic in Abuja.
The meeting was part of consultations by the President on the situation in Niger.
The communiqué of the meeting was not released as at 11pm press time.
In attendance were governors Ahmed Aliyu (Sokoto), Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Mai Malam Buni (Yobe), Idris Nasir (Kebbi) and Dr Dikko Radda (Katsina).
ECOWAS leaders will this week convene a meeting in Abuja after their virtual meeting to make a crucial decision on the ultimatum.
A source privy to the ECOWAS meeting said a communique will be issued afterwards.
Following a military coup against the democratically elected President of Niger Republic, the ECOWAS states had given a seven-day ultimatum against the junta to vacate office or face dire consequences.
The junta has remained defiant despite ECOWAS threatening to attack. The regional bloc had said the military had until yesterday to return power to the democratically elected president.
The junta has also asked for help from the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, according to an analyst.
The request came during a visit by a member of the Niger junta, General Salifou Mody, to neighbouring Mali, where he made contact with Wagner officers.
ECOWAS defence chiefs finalised an intervention plan on Friday after a mediation team was denied entry to Niger’s capital, Niamey, to meet with junta leader General Abdourahmane Tchiani.
But, Algeria has indicated that it was against any military intervention in Niger, according to its President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
“A military intervention could ignite the whole Sahel region, and Algeria will not use force with its neighbours,” Tabboune said in an interview with local media.
Along with the EU, Algeria called for unifying political and diplomatic pressures to ensure a return to the “constitutional order” in Niger.
The Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI) of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, Plateau State also rejected military action
Rising from an emergency meeting, members of AANI strongly condemned the military seizure of power in the Niger Republic but called for caution.
“It supports the efforts of ECOWAS’ towards restoring democracy in the West African country.
“However, in restoring democracy, ECOWAS should consider the immediate and long-term implications of its actions on the people of the Niger Republic and the wider West African sub-region,” the association said in a statement by its spokesman, Gen. Sani Usman Kukasheka (retd).
A peace-building think tank, Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro), cautioned the ECOWAS against listening to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) over what it called a mission of military intervention in Niger Republic.
PeacePro noted that USIP’s advocacy for military intervention in Niger betrayed any known peace-building techniques that could foster cooperation and ensure conflict transformation.
The group’s Executive Director, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, expressed his amazement over the statement credited to USIP country manager, Chris Kwaja, urging ECOWAS to use force and bite hard in handling the situation in Niger Republic.
Also, Peace and Conflict Studies expert, Prof. Isaac Albert, urged President Tinubu not to embark on military action against Niger.
Albert, of the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ibadan, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday that the action might be more dangerous, as it was capable of leading to the springing up of more terrorist groups.
“Tinubu should seek the advice of security experts before leading ECOWAS on invading Niger, especially due to Nigeria’s current internal security challenge.
”Attacking Niger at this point is not the best option because it may give rise to more terrorist groups to connive and attack Nigeria.
”Yes, Nigeria and ECOWAS may be able to defeat Niger in the short run, but Nigeria may have Boko Haram, Russia-backed Wagner and other terrorist organisations to contend with in the long run.
“We must not forget that the Nigerian army is substantially helping Nigeria to curtail the activities of Boko Haram along its border.
“Moreover, most of the countries claiming to be supporting Nigeria today may be our enemies at the end of the day.
“Furthermore, where will Nigeria and ECOWAS get the required funds to pursue the invasion?
“Ghana, The Gambia, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire Coast, Togo and other ECOWAS member-states, alongside Nigeria, are in economic crises and struggling to satisfy the yawning of their people,” he said.
A professor of Comparative Politics, Gbade Ojo, said that bad governance on the part of civilian leaders brought about recent military take-over in some African countries.
Ojo, of the Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin, pointed out that nothing good would come out of the impending military action against Niger if the citizens of the country had decided to accept the military junta.
According to him, many civilian leaders in Africa are encouraging coups because of their sit-tight leadership style.
ECOWAS, under the chairman of Tinubu, had recently given Niger’s coup leaders up till yesterday to step down and reinstate the democratically-elected president or face military action.
Crime
Indonesia to Repatriate British Grandmother on Death Row, Says Official
Indonesia will sign an agreement on Tuesday to repatriate two British nationals convicted of drug-related crimes, including Lindsay Sandiford, a grandmother sentenced to death, according to a senior Indonesian government source.
“The practical arrangement will be signed today. The transfer will be done immediately after the technical side is agreed,” the official told AFP, naming Sandiford and Shahab Shahabadi, 35, as the individuals to be returned to the UK.
Sandiford was sentenced to death in 2013 after she was caught smuggling cocaine worth over $2.1 million into Bali from Thailand. The drugs were discovered concealed in a false bottom of her suitcase. Shahabadi, arrested in 2014, is currently serving a life sentence for separate drug offences.
Although the Indonesian source listed Sandiford’s age as 68, public records indicate she is 69.
A joint press conference with Indonesian officials and the British ambassador to Indonesia was scheduled for later Tuesday, according to the Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Affairs.
Tabloid Attention and Personal Testimony
Sandiford’s case received widespread attention in the UK after she admitted to the offences but claimed she was coerced by a drug syndicate that threatened to kill her son. In a 2015 article published in The Mail on Sunday, Sandiford wrote from prison about her fear of imminent execution:
“My execution is imminent, and I know I might die at any time now. I could be taken tomorrow from my cell. I have started to write goodbye letters to members of my family.”
Originally from Redcar, in northeast England, she also wrote that she planned to sing the Perry Como hit “Magic Moments” before facing the firing squad.
During her time in prison, Sandiford reportedly became close friends with Andrew Chan, one of the “Bali Nine” Australian drug smugglers who was executed in 2015.
Policy Shift on Repatriation
The planned transfer follows recent moves by the Prabowo Subianto administration to repatriate foreign nationals serving harsh sentences for drug crimes. In December 2024, Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina who spent nearly 15 years on death row, was allowed to return home. In February 2025, Serge Atlaoui, a French national, was repatriated after 18 years on death row.
Indonesia, known for having some of the world’s strictest drug laws, last carried out executions in 2016, when three Nigerian citizens and an Indonesian were executed by firing squad. As of early November 2025, more than 90 foreign nationals remain on death row in the country, all for drug-related offences.
The British Embassy in Jakarta declined to comment, directing inquiries to the Indonesian government.
Indonesian authorities have recently signalled the potential resumption of executions, after nearly a decade-long de facto moratorium.
International
Protest in US over Trump’s policies
Organisers said seven million people marched in protests spanning New York to Los Angeles, with demonstrations popping up in small cities across the US heartland and even near Trump’s home in Florida.
(AFP): Huge crowds took to the streets in all 50 US states at “No Kings” protests over the weekend, venting anger over President Donald Trump’s hardline policies, while Republicans ridiculed them as “Hate America” rallies.
Organisers said seven million people marched in protests spanning New York to Los Angeles, with demonstrations popping up in small cities across the US heartland and even near Trump’s home in Florida.
“This is what democracy looks like!” chanted thousands in Washington near the US Capitol, where the federal government was shut down for a third week because of a legislative deadlock.
Colourful signs called on people to “protect democracy,” while others demanded the country abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency at the centre of Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown.
Demonstrators slammed what they called the Republican billionaire’s strong-arm tactics, including attacks on the media, political opponents and undocumented immigrants.
“I never thought I would live to see the death of my country as a democracy,” 69-year-old retiree Colleen Hoffman told AFP as she marched down Broadway in New York.
International
Thieves steal French crown jewels
They included the emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon gave his wife Empress Marie Louise, and the diadem of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III.
•A tiara worn by the Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III was stolen
Thieves wielding power tools raided the Louvre in broad daylight Sunday, taking just seven minutes to grab some of France’s priceless crown jewels, but dropping a gem-encrusted crown as they fled, officials and sources said.
Authorities recovered the 19th-century crown — damaged — near the museum.
The spectacular heist, one of several to target French museums in recent months, forced the closure of the Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum and home to the Mona Lisa.
Police are looking for a team of four thieves, Paris’s chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau, told the BFMTV channel.
Soldiers patrolled the famed glass pyramid entrance, while evacuated visitors, tourists and passersby were kept at a distance behind police tape.
It was “like a Hollywood movie”, one American tourist, Talia Ocampo, told AFP.
It was “crazy” and “something we won’t forget — we could not go to the Louvre because there was a robbery”, she said.
A culture ministry statement said eight items of jewellery had been stolen from the Gallerie Apollon which houses the French crown jewels.
“Two high-security display cases were targeted, and eight objects of invaluable cultural heritage were stolen,” said the ministry statement.
They included the emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon gave his wife Empress Marie Louise, and the diadem of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III.
Beccuau said the thieves threatened museum guards with the angle grinders they used to break into the jewellery cases. She said a team of 60 investigators were assigned to the crime.
– ‘Unsellable’ –
The robbers used a powered, extendable ladder of the sort used to hoist furniture into buildings to get into a gilded gallery housing the crown jewels, sources and officials said.
The 19th-century crown of Empress Eugenie, was found broken near the museum afterwards, a source following the robbery said, asking to remain anonymous because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The crown, featuring golden eagles, is covered in 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, according to the museum’s website.
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