Offscript With Chika Oduah

Chika Oduah (Wikipedia)

BY ORITSEJOLOMI OTOMEWO

“The way I practice my journalism is to go as close as possible to the source. It’s an influence of my anthropological training, where we go into the field.”

In April 2014, that instinct took Chika Oduah to Chibok, a northeastern town in Nigeria.

Boko Haram had just kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from the Government Secondary School, and most articles being published about it were being filed from Abuja, Lagos, London, New York, or Washington. Not many journalists had actually gone to Chibok. An editor at The Guardian reached out to Oduah and asked if she could write something. She looked at the coverage and immediately saw the gap.

She had been attending the Bring Back Our Girls rallies in Abuja and had connected with a man from Chibok who had not been back to his hometown in years. He became her guide. They hired a car and drove fourteen hours north, through increasingly remote and deserted terrain, until they arrived. When they did, she crossed paths with Adam Nossiter, the New York Times correspondent, who had come the same day with politicians and a large entourage. Oduah had come differently. “I like to travel low-key,” she says. “Wear a hijab, speak my small Hausa, and just go.” A local businessman offered her a bed for the night. Before he left her to sleep, he pointed to a machete by the wall and told her to use it if she heard anything. She did not sleep easily. But she got the story.

It was not a one-off. The story of terrorism and its aftermath became a major thread running through her career, one she would return to again and again. But more than any single assignment, Chibok captures something essential about how Oduah works, and why she has spent years building a journalism practice that many of her peers in international media have never attempted.

For most foreign correspondents covering Nigeria and Africa, the job is done at a distance. Stories about the continent are filed from comfortable newsrooms, stitched together from wire copy and phone calls. Oduah has never seen the point of this. She has spent her career working with international media organisations while insisting on doing the reporting on the ground, where the story actually happens. That conviction made her turn her back on a career in the United States and move to Nigeria. It is what now guides her as she builds her own platform, Zikora Media and Arts. To understand where it comes from, you have to go back to a small village on the banks of the River Niger.

Oduah was born in Ogbaru, a rustic community sitting on those banks, as the first daughter of her parents. Life in the village was busy and full of nature. As the first female child, she was expected to be many things at once. That sense of doing several things at the same time stayed with her. “I was raised to be a multitasker. It is why I wear many hats.”

At two years old, she relocated with her family to the United States, settling in Georgia — a state that, with its sprawling greenery and slower pace, carried some of the same rural texture as the village she had left behind.

But Georgia was not Ogbaru, and America was not home. Even as a child, Oduah felt the dissonance acutely. “I felt like a fish out of water,” she says. “The US was not for me. It was a country of corporate slavery and capitalism stripped of humanity. I saw all of this when I was about eight years old and told my parents I was not going to stay.”

Growing up, she was a restless, creative child. She danced, sang, and wrote poetry. By her teenage years, she had started writing articles on current affairs. She had so many interests it was difficult to choose: fashion design, anthropology, fiction writing, activism. Her parents pushed her toward journalism. Her mother first suggested it, and her father convinced her she did not need to be on television to do it. She could write. That was all she needed.

At sixteen, Oduah walked into her first newsroom, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one of the most prestigious papers in the American Southeast. It was there that she began to understand what the craft demanded. She went on to study Journalism and Anthropology at Georgia State University, embracing the multimedia approach that was being pushed hard at the time — learning to write, shoot, edit video, record audio, and produce. It helped that CNN’s headquarters sat a few minutes from her campus. Inspiration was always within walking distance.

In those early years, the stories she wrote were almost always about immigrants and marginalised voices. After graduating, she landed a job at NBC News. But before that, she had spent time in Kenya, working at K24: the country’s first twenty-four-hour news station, drifting from place to place doing documentary and feature work. It was her first real taste of on-the-ground journalism on the continent, and she loved every moment of it.

Back in New York, she joined Sahara Reporters as a creative director, helping build what was then an ambitious attempt at a pan-African television broadcast station. In 2012, she was accepted into Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop, a recognition of the literary ambitions she had never fully set aside.

After she left Sahara Reporters, she decided to return to Nigeria. Her mother cried when she announced she was leaving the US, but her father was supportive. “He was like, that’s my girl. He always loved my go-getter spirit.”

In 2013, she moved to Abuja. The choice was deliberate; Al Jazeera’s African headquarters was in the capital. She had been applying from the United States, but the emails and calls had not been taken seriously. When she showed up in person at the Abuja office, they finally understood she was serious and offered her a job as a producer for the West African region.

As producer, Oduah was responsible for everything: pitching stories to Doha, organising teams, arranging fixers, conducting risk assessments, going into the field, editing the final product. The role took her across Nigeria and into neighbouring countries. She covered the farmer-herder conflict in the Middle Belt, the Benue massacres, and communities in the northeast living under the shadow of Boko Haram. “I have been able to travel across Nigeria more than people who have lived there their whole life.”

After leaving Al Jazeera, she worked as a freelance journalist covering West Africa for several international media organizations including Vice, Voice of America and France 24. It was during this period she found her way to Chibok.

In 2017, she moved to Senegal. The reasons were layered. The first was safety; her reporting on Boko Haram had made certain people unhappy, and she needed distance. The second was language; most West African countries are francophone, and she needed French to cover the region properly. The third was art. Senegal has a deep, living tradition of artistic practice, and she wanted to immerse herself in it.

But it was her frustrations with the international media industry that eventually pushed her to build something of her own. There was the outlet that planned to cover a Nigerian election without telling the only Nigerian on the team. There were the organisations that did not like her dreadlocks and wanted her to look a certain way on camera. And then there was a video of a Burkinabé mystic and spiritual philosopher named Patrice Malidoma, a man who had spent his life bridging African spiritual traditions and the Western world. In the middle of a talk, Malidoma stopped and said, seemingly out of nowhere, that someone was listening who had not been brought to Africa to report on bad news, but to find solutions. Oduah got chills. Shortly after, she learned that Malidoma had died.

She started Zikora Media and Arts in 2023. The name means “show the world” in Igbo. “Africans still apologise for being African,” she says. Zikora is her attempt to change that, through journalism, literature, performance, and events.

Looking ahead, Oduah talks about Zikora the way a young reporter talks about her first big story: as something whose full shape she cannot yet see, but whose direction she is sure of. There is more of the continent to cover, more voices to find, but she wants those voices to speak for themselves.

It is the same instinct that put her in a car for fourteen hours to Chibok, that walked her into the Al Jazeera office in person. The instinct to go close, to go in person, and to show the world whatever she finds there.

SOURCE: COMMUNIQUE

How Off-The-Shelf Drones Are Changing Jihadist Warfare In West Africa

BY MAKUOCHI OKAFOR

Jihadist groups are increasingly carrying out drone strikes in West Africa, raising alarm that they are building the capacity to wage a "war from the skies".

A leading violence monitoring organisation, Acled, has recorded at least 69 drone strikes by an al-Qaeda affiliate in Burkina Faso and Mali since 2023, while two Islamic State (IS) affiliates have carried out around 20 - mostly in Nigeria, which has been battling numerous insurgent groups for almost 25 years.

The latest drone attack took place in Nigeria's north-eastern Borno state on 29 January, when jihadists carried out a two-pronged assault - with multiple armed drones and ground fighters - on a military base.

The military said nine of its soldiers were killed in the attack by the Islamic State of West Africa Province (Iswap) - identified by Acled as the "most prolific" IS African affiliate in "drone warfare".

The jihadists tended to carry out strikes with "commercially available, relatively inexpensive quadcopter [unmanned] drones" that were "rigged with explosives", while also using them for reconnaissance and surveillance missions in preparation for ground attacks, Acled senior Africa analyst Ladd Serwat told the BBC.

Despite the fact that Nigeria's government tightly controls the import of commercial and hobby drones and prohibits their use without official permission, the jihadists were able to obtain them through their smuggling networks across the region's porous borders, said a Nigeria-based senior researcher at the Good Governance Africa think-tank, Malik Samuel.

"The growing use of armed and surveillance drones by violent extremist groups in the Sahel and Lake Chad region is deeply concerning, and it marks a significant shift," security analyst Audu Bulama Bukarti told the BBC.

"Drones lower the cost of conducting attacks, allow militants to gather intelligence with minimal risk and enable strikes on military targets that were previously harder to reach," he added.

According to Serwat, Iswap has carried out 10 drone strikes since 2024 in north-eastern Nigeria as well as in northern Cameroon, southern Niger, and southern Chad - all countries affected by the insurgency in Nigeria.

A similar number of drone attacks were carried out by another IS affiliate, the Islamic State of Sahel Province (ISSP), in West Africa, Acled data shows.

In its latest attack, ISSP carried out an assault on the international airport in Niger's capital, Niamey, and nearby military bases, also on 29 January, with the defence ministry saying that four military personnel were injured and 20 of the assailants were killed.

Serwat said that while some reports claim ISSP used mortars and RPGs, others suggest that the militants carried out a drone strike.

"If a drone was used, this represents the first time ISSP used an explosive-laden drone in Niger," he added.

The jihadist group that has used drones the most is the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). Acled says it has carried 69 strikes in neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, and one across the border in Togo.

"JNIM's drone programme has developed rapidly and spread across interconnected networks in Mali and Burkina," Acled's senior West Africa analyst Héni Nsaibia said.

Military Africa, an online defence industry source, reported that last February, JNIM had also used what are known as first-person view (FPV) drones - when the pilot has a live feed from the drone - to drop improvised explosive devices, made from plastic bottles, onto military positions in Burkina Faso's Djibo town.

"This marked a significant escalation, as FPV drones - small, agile, and often used in Ukraine - allow precise targeting," Military Africa reported.

Samuel said the jihadist groups were influenced and trained by foreign fighters to constantly adopt new methods - from making roadside bombs and suicide belts, they had now learned to turn "off-the-shelf" drones into weapons.

Drone attacks could reduce casualties among jihadists, while achieving greater "effectiveness" in hitting targets, Samuel said.

Acled analyst Nsaibia told the BBC that while the majority of JNIM's drone attacks in Mali and Burkina Faso had targeted the military and allied militias, some had also hit civilians, including markets in communities perceived as being aligned with government forces.

As for Iswap, it was known to have carried out only one drone attack that hit civilians - in June 2025, when two pastoralists were killed and one injured in northern Cameroon, Nsaibia said.

In a report last year, a researcher at the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies, Taiwo Adebayo, wrote that to combat the threat, West African armies needed to carry out "preemptive strikes" to destroy drone assembly and launch sites, and acquire more counter-drone technology, including jamming devices and air defence systems.

Otherwise, he warned, the jihadists could enhance their drone warfare capabilities and carry out "high-impact assaults" that could worsen instability in West Africa.

Senator Ted Cruz Slams US Officials For Avoiding Reference To Polisario Terror Links

BY SAFAA KASRAOUI

RABAT, MOROCCO  – US Senator Ted Cruz has sharply criticized administration officials for repeatedly avoiding any direct reference to the Polisario Front, despite documented links to the separatist group instigating terror activities that destabilize the region.

Cruz made his remarks during a Senate hearing on counterterrorism efforts in North Africa and the Sahel this week.

During the hearing, he pointed a rebuke to US officials for what he described as a deliberate refusal to acknowledge the Polisario and its links to terrorism.

He also noted a contradiction between praising Algeria as a “critical pillar of stability in the region” and vaguely warning of terrorist activity in the Sahel without naming the parties involved.

Algeria’s regime has been hosting, financing, arming, and sheltering the Polisario Front, a separatist group claiming independence in Western Sahara.

Several reports link Polisario’s involvement in terrorist activities.

In 2017, Morocco’s security services identified 100 Polisario members who are associated with ISIS.

In 2021, French authorities killed Adnan Abdu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of a terror group known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.

Al Sahrawi was also a former member of the Polisario Front.

Cruz also pointed out Iran’s proxy Hezbollah’s collusion with Polisiario.

“Iran is trying to turn the Polisario Front into the Houthis for West Africa, a proxy force capable of waging war to threaten regional stability and pressure US partners wherever Iran wants leverage,” the senator said.

He recalled Polisario’s work with Iranian “terrorist groups,” taking drones from the IRGC and moving weapons and resources around the region, including to other groups instigating terrorist acts.

“I believe they should be designated as a terrorist group, and I’ve drafted a bill to do so if there is no change in their behavior,” Cruz added.
For Cruz, the officials delivered nothing of substance

Senior Bureau Official Robert Palladino responded to Cruz’s question by repeatedly steering away from directly addressing the senator’s question.

Instead, he shifted to broader diplomatic language, conveying US’ commitment to achieve a lasting solution to the Western Sahara dispute.

When Cruz pressed the official about the possibility of designating Polisario as a terrorist group, Palladino made similar remarks – stating the US is “constantly assessing threats to the American homeland.”

Cruz responded to Palladino’s remarks, insinuating that they were merely talking points that were “positively Shakespearean, full of sound and fury and yet signifying nothing.”

Another US official also made an indirect answer to Cruz’s questions, causing the senator to address the situation head-on.

Cruz also asked both officials if they received any instructions not to say anything negative about the Polisario Front, with both officials denying receiving such guidance.

“So you just decided to go down that road for the heck of it,” Cruz responded.
A history of Iran-Polisario links

Morocco cut ties with Iran in 2018, emphasizing that it received evidence about the collision.

It accused Tehran of providing Polisario with logistical support.

Iran and Algeria’s regimes denied the collusion, but Moroccan officials emphasized they received indications and satellite proof of training and equipment provision links between Tehran and the separatist group.

The situation prompted concerns in the international community, with officials from across the world urging their countries to designate Polisario as a terrorist group.

In September last year, US Congressman Joe Wilson described the separatist Polisario Front as a “terrorist organization” that destabilizes peace and security worldwide.

“In fact, the Polisario is a terrorist organization, and I have introduced a bill to recognize it as such, because the existence of these terrorist groups contributes to destabilizing the world,” Wilson told reporters Tuesday on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly.

In June, the lawmaker submitted a bipartisan bill in June urging the US to officially classify the Algeria-based and backed group as a foreign terrorist organization.

The bill details the group’s ties with Iran and its proxy Hezbollah, its involvement in violent attacks against Moroccan forces, and its role in destabilizing both the Maghreb and the Sahel.

----------- MOROCCO WORLD NEWS

Militarising The Sahel Will Not Defeat Terrorism

BY AYODELE S. OWOLABI

ASSOCIATE LECTURER  IN INTERNATIONAL

RELATIONS, AT LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES

UNIVERSITY

After launching what he called “a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS [ISIL] terrorist scum” in northwest Nigeria on December 25, United States President Donald Trump promised “many more”, reaffirming his stance that the US “will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to prosper”. The strikes occurred less than a week after the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES) commissioned a joint military force comprising a 5,000-strong contingent, presented as a symbol of collective self-reliance and security autonomy, in a concerted effort to combat terrorist groups in its member states. They also followed moves by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to establish an ambitious plan announced in August 2025 to activate a 260,000-strong joint counterterrorism force, backed by a proposed $2.5bn annual budget for logistics and front-line support.

While these developments may be presented by their proponents as decisive steps against terrorism, there is little evidence that militarised escalation alone can defeat armed groups in the Sahel. Instead, they signal an accelerating militarisation of the region. Not only does this fuel emerging geopolitical tensions in West Africa, but it also, more importantly, edges the Sahel towards interstate armed conflict, posing far graver risks to regional peace and stability.

A friendship turned sour

Until 2021, counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations in the Sahel were governed by a loosely coordinated, non-hierarchical security architecture built around diplomatic and military collaboration among regional and extra-regional actors. This architecture brought together ECOWAS, the European Union, the United Nations, the African Union, external powers such as the US and France, as well as regional powers such as Algeria and Nigeria, with ECOWAS playing a central coordinating role.

A typical example was the 2013 African-led International Support Mission to Mali, organised by ECOWAS in collaboration with the AU, UN and France to confront Tuareg rebels and allied armed groups in northern Mali. More prominent was the EU-financed G5 Sahel counterterrorism force, which brought together African and European troops and operated between 2017 and 2023. While these arrangements were often marked by tension, competition and uneven outcomes, they functioned within a shared security framework that limited direct confrontation between states.

This balance was disrupted after the 2023 coup in Niger. By threatening the use of force to restore constitutional order, ECOWAS crossed a political threshold that transformed its role from intermediary to perceived adversary in the eyes of the Nigerien junta. That threat was widely interpreted as an act of aggression, and it proved catalytic. In response, Niger’s military rulers, alongside their counterparts in Mali and Burkina Faso, moved to establish the Alliance of Sahel States as a deliberate effort to reclaim security autonomy, dismantle the existing multilateral security regime and sever ties with longstanding partners including ECOWAS, the EU, the US and France.

Notably, the AES institutionalises a mutual defence pact that codifies this break with the previous multilateral security order by explicitly framing ECOWAS and its Western partners as threats to the sovereignty and national security of its member states. Beyond deepening the rift between former allies, this posture signals a dangerous shift towards the securitisation of neighbouring states, raising the spectre of interstate conflict in West Africa, a phenomenon largely absent since the 1990s.

Emerging geopolitical tensions

In severing security ties with the West, the AES have pivoted towards Russia as a principal security partner to counterbalance decades of US and European influence in West Africa, signalling a deepening but still evolving security partnership with Moscow. While these strategic choices reflect an emerging self-help posture with new preferences for non-conventional allies, they are also intensifying geopolitical tensions across the region.

Nigeria’s military role in countering an attempted coup in neighbouring Benin was praised as a major win for ECOWAS. But when a Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft made an emergency landing in Burkina Faso two days later, the AES interpreted this as a violation of its airspace and sovereignty, authorising its air force to neutralise any aircraft involved in further violations. Tensions were heightened by reports that France had provided Nigeria with surveillance and intelligence support during the Benin intervention, fuelling apprehension about France’s potential re-entry into the AES security landscape. With Nigeria now willing to extend security cooperation with the US following the Christmas Day strikes, the stakes have risen further for the AES. Although aimed at militants operating in northwest Nigeria, the strikes appear calculated to bolster US strategic legitimacy as a counterterrorism actor in the region, potentially opening the door to further operations in Nigeria’s northeast, where ISWAP and Boko Haram remain active.

Given Nigeria’s influence within ECOWAS, this emerging security partnership with the US is likely to shape the operational capacity of the proposed 260,000-strong ECOWAS force. This does not bode well for the AES, which is intent on insulating its member states from Western security influence in the name of sovereignty. Because ECOWAS forces would be deployed in member states at the epicentre of terrorist violence, many combat engagements would take place in locations adjacent to AES territories. With AES troops also operating in these areas, military clashes between the two sides become increasingly likely, particularly given the region’s porous borders and fluid combat environments. Given that the Christmas Day strikes reportedly hit unintended targets, the risk that future air strikes by a US-backed ECOWAS could spill into AES territory cannot be dismissed. For deterrence, the AES may seek to leverage Russia’s military backing, evoking echoes of Cold War-era security brinkmanship.

Implications for regional stability

Without reconciliation between the AES and ECOWAS, two major risks loom for regional peace and stability. First, rising geopolitical tensions could draw AES and ECOWAS member states into direct interstate military confrontations, potentially plunging West Africa into a regional war. Such a conflict would serve neither side’s counterterrorism objectives. Beyond devastating the region, it would create space for armed groups to expand their operations amid fractured and distracted security responses. Second, the standoff risks turning West Africa into a new theatre for global power rivalry, with a Russia-backed AES on one side and a US and France-backed ECOWAS on the other. In the context of an emerging New Cold War, the use of veto power by these global actors at the UN Security Council could further complicate conflict resolution, with profoundly destabilising consequences for the region.

The AES and ECOWAS now face a stark choice: to revive Cold War-style bloc politics in West Africa while the region slides towards chaos, or to negotiate a security sub-coalition that prioritises human security alongside national sovereignty. Regardless of how the AES views ECOWAS, the burden lies with the latter to manage the unintended consequences of escalating tensions. While there are few indications that the AES is willing to cooperate directly with a West-backed ECOWAS on counterterrorism, ECOWAS could pursue diplomatic engagement to negotiate a concept of operations that guarantees respect for AES sovereignty. As Africa’s most experienced regional security organisation, ECOWAS possesses the diplomatic capacity to do so. For progress to be made, Francophone ECOWAS member states should take the lead in these efforts, while Nigeria exercises its influence more discreetly. Whether ECOWAS can reclaim ownership of its security agenda and define the terms of external engagement will shape not only West Africa’s future, but that of the continent as a whole.

READ ORIGINAL STORY HERE

Morocco Deepens Military Ties With Ethiopia In Strategic East Africa Pivot

RABAT/ADDIS ABABA (MEO) – Relations between Morocco and Ethiopia entered a new strategic phase, marked by expanding military cooperation that reflects Rabat’s broader push to deepen engagement with African partners and strengthen regional integration across the continent.

The growing defence partnership signals a significant shift in Moroccan diplomacy, as the kingdom moves beyond its traditional West and Central African focus towards a more assertive geopolitical presence in East Africa and the Horn.

This momentum was underscored by the first meeting of the Moroccan-Ethiopian Joint Military Commission, held in Addis Ababa on January13 and 14. The meeting follows a bilateral military cooperation agreement signed in May 2025, which formally established the commission and laid the groundwork for collaboration in training, capacity-building and the exchange of expertise across a range of military and security fields.

For decades, Morocco concentrated much of its political and economic influence in francophone West Africa. However, policymakers in Rabat have increasingly recognised that aspiring to continental power status requires a tangible presence in East Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, a demographic heavyweight, a rising economic force and host country of the African Union.

The rapprochement with Addis Ababa represents a deliberate effort by Morocco to diversify its African alliances and demonstrate its ability to forge South-South partnerships that transcend regional, linguistic and historical divides. A foothold in Ethiopia also strengthens Rabat’s diplomatic leverage on key continental issues and helps neutralise opposition to its core national interests, notably the Western Sahara, in regions that have historically lain beyond its sphere of influence.

Morocco’s engagement with Ethiopia has evolved from major economic investments to strategic security cooperation. Among the most prominent projects is a $3.7 billion fertiliser plant developed by the OCP Group, Morocco’s state-owned phosphate giant. That economic foundation is now being complemented by closer military and security ties.

The kingdom brings to the partnership a well-established reputation in counterterrorism, border security and military training. By sharing this expertise, Rabat is positioning itself as a credible provider of security on the African continent, a role that aligns with its wider diplomatic ambitions.

In May, Morocco’s Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of National Defence Administration Abdellatif Loudiyi received Ethiopian Defence Minister Aisha Mohammed Mussa during an official visit to Rabat.

According to a statement from Morocco’s National Defence Administration, the talks reviewed bilateral cooperation and explored ways to enhance it, while reaffirming both countries’ commitment to peace, stability and security in Africa. The visit culminated in the signing of a military cooperation agreement covering training, scientific research, military health services and the exchange of expertise.

The defence accord built on earlier high-level military contacts. In April, Morocco’s Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces, General Mohammed Berrid, visited Addis Ababa, where he met Ethiopian Chief of General Staff Birhanu Jula. The two sides discussed a draft framework for broad-based military cooperation aimed at expanding and institutionalising the partnership.

During the visit, General Berrid toured several Ethiopian military facilities, including cyber security units, an artificial intelligence institute, Bishoftu Air Base in central Ethiopia and an ammunition factory, signalling the depth and technical scope of the emerging relationship.

Morocco and Ethiopia’s ties are rooted in a longer diplomatic history. During a visit by King Mohammed VI to Addis Ababa in November 2015, the two countries signed 12 agreements spanning air transport, mining, agriculture, tourism, water cooperation and diplomatic coordination, laying the foundations for today’s expanded engagement.

Military analyst Mohamed Chakir said the defence cooperation reflects Morocco’s broader African outreach strategy, noting Ethiopia’s pivotal role in the Horn of Africa and its status as host of the African Union. He described the Joint Military Commission as a key mechanism for advancing practical cooperation in security and defence.

From Ethiopia’s perspective, Chakir added, Addis Ababa is keen to benefit from Morocco’s military expertise, particularly in advanced defence technologies. Morocco has been steadily upgrading its military capabilities through partnerships with the United States, under a 10-year defence cooperation agreement signed in October 2020 and running until 2030.

Chqir noted that Morocco has invested heavily in military training and education infrastructure, and that the new commission provides an institutional framework to sustain long-term cooperation. He also pointed to Rabat’s parallel efforts to develop a domestic defence industry, including the launch of a combat vehicle manufacturing plant in partnership with India last October, aimed at supplying both the Moroccan armed forces and international markets.

For Ethiopian officials, the Joint Military Commission marks a turning point. The Ethiopian National Defence Force said the initiative aims to expand cooperation across military education, training, defence industries and technology transfer.

Speaking after the meeting, Director-General of Foreign Relations and Military Cooperation at the Ethiopian National Defence Force Teshome Gemechu described the first session of the commission as a historic milestone that opens a new phase of practical implementation across agreed areas of cooperation.

On the Moroccan side, Abdel Kahar Othman, head of Logistics at the Royal Armed Forces, called the meeting an important development in bilateral military relations, stressing Rabat’s determination to further elevate defence cooperation with Ethiopia and describing progress to date as encouraging.

Together, the developments point to a recalibration of Morocco’s African strategy, one that blends economic investment, security diplomacy and institutional partnerships, and signals Rabat’s ambition to play a more influential role across the full breadth of the continent.

From Hiding To Nobel Laureate: María Corina Machado’s Continues Fight For Venezuela’s Democracy

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado displays vote tally sheet during a protest against the reelection of Nocolas Maduro one month after the disputed presidential vote which she says the opposition won by a landslide, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, August 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)

BY REGINA GARCIA CANO

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (AP) — María Corina Machado has long been the face of resistance to Venezuela’s 26-year ruling party. Now, she is also a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who prompted millions of Venezuelans to reject President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s election, appeared in public for the first time in 11 months on Thursday, following her arrival in Norway, where her daughter received the award on her behalf the previous day.

Machado had been in hiding since Jan. 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters during an anti-government protest in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.

Her Nobel win for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in her South American nation was announced on Oct. 10. Hours after waving from the balcony of a hotel to a cheering crowd gathered outside on Thursday, Machado told reporters that she would continue the fight for her homeland’s democracy and promised to return soon.

“My return will be when we believe the security conditions are right, and it won’t depend on whether or not the regime leaves,” she said. “It will be as soon as possible.”

Engineer-turned-politician

Machado, an industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate, began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

She drew the anger of Chávez and his allies the following year for her Oval Office meeting with then U.S. President George W. Bush. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Her full transformation into a politician would come in 2010, when she was elected to a seat in the National Assembly, receiving more votes than any aspiring lawmaker ever. It was from this position that she boldly interrupted Chávez as he addressed the legislature and called his expropriation of businesses theft.

“An eagle does not hunt a fly,” he responded. The exchange is seared in voters’ memories.

She drew the anger of Chávez and his allies the following year for her Oval Office meeting with then U.S. President George W. Bush. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Her full transformation into a politician would come in 2010, when she was elected to a seat in the National Assembly, receiving more votes than any aspiring lawmaker ever. It was from this position that she boldly interrupted Chávez as he addressed the legislature and called his expropriation of businesses theft.

“An eagle does not hunt a fly,” he responded. The exchange is seared in voters’ memories.

Presidential aspirations

Machado, 58, sought Venezuela’s presidency for the first time in 2012, but she finished third in the primary race to be the presidential candidate for the Democratic Unity Roundtable.

The ruling party-controlled National Assembly ousted Machado in 2014 and, months later, the Comptroller General’s Office barred her from public office for a year, citing an alleged omission on her asset declaration form. That same year, the government accused her of being involved in an alleged plot to kill Maduro, who succeeded Chávez after his 2013 death.

Machado, a free-market firebrand, denied the charge, calling it an attempt to silence her and opposition members who had called tens of thousands of people to the streets in anti-government protests that at times turned violent.

She kept a low profile for the next nine years, supporting some anti-Maduro initiatives and election boycotts and criticizing opposition efforts to negotiate with the government. By the time she announced a new bid for the presidency in 2023, her careful messaging had softened her image as an elitist hard-liner, allowing her to connect with skeptics on both sides.

She won the opposition’s presidential primary with more than 90% of the vote, unifying the faction — as noted by the Nobel Prize committee. But ruling party loyalists who control the country’s judiciary kept her from appearing on the ballot, which forced her to throw her support behind former diplomat Edmundo González.

She hiked on overpasses, walked highways, rode motorcycles, sought shelter in supporters’ homes and saw her closest collaborators be arrested as she kept campaigning across Venezuela. She repeatedly joined thousands of supporters chanting in unison “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!” in rallies and asked them to vote for González, a virtual unknown who had never run for office.
Brutal repression

González crushed Maduro by a more than a two-to-one margin, according to voting machine records collected by the opposition and validated by international observers. Still, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, loyal to the ruling party, declared Maduro the winner of the July 28, 2024, contest.

People protested the results across the country, and the government responded with full force, arresting more than 2,000 people and accusing them of plotting to oust Maduro and sow chaos. Most were released over the following months, but the government simultaneously arrested dozens of people who actively participated in Machado’s efforts last year.

Some of Machado’s closest collaborators, including her campaign manager, avoided prison by sheltering for more than a year at a diplomatic compound in Caracas, where they remained until May, when they fled to the U.S. She reunited with them, her family and González on Thursday.

González went into exile in Spain last year after he became the subject of an arrest warrant, and Machado hadn’t been seen in public since January, when she joined people protesting Maduro’s planned swearing-in ceremony. Her and González’s inability to stop Maduro from taking the oath of office led to a decline in support.

People’s trust has diminished since then, primarily over Machado’s unquestionable support for Trump, including the large U.S. maritime deployment in the Caribbean that has carried out deadly strikes off the coast of Venezuela. This has led to new divisions within the opposition, but she remains undeterred in her efforts to oust Maduro.

Machado told reporters Thursday that Venezuelans have “given everything for an orderly and peaceful transition to democracy” and now need “action,” not just statements, from other governments to meet their goal.

“The one who has declared war on Venezuelans is the Maduro regime,” she said. “In criminal systems, we need the world’s democracies to support our citizens.”

Supporting Palestine While Denying Biafra Height Of Hypocrisy, Igbo Union Tells Tinubu

BY UGOCHUKWU ALARIBE

UMUAHIA (VANGUARD NIGERIA) – The Igbo National Union–Worldwide (INU-W) has accused the Federal Government of hypocrisy for supporting the recognition of an independent State of Palestine while allegedly suppressing the agitation for Biafra’s sovereignty within Nigeria.

The group was reacting to President Bola Tinubu’s call—delivered through Vice President Kashim Shettima—for the recognition of Palestine as an independent state during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 80) held recently in New York, USA.

In a statement signed by its Administrative Secretary, Mazi Austin-Mary Ndukwu, INU-W said Nigeria’s position at the UN amounted to “the height of hypocrisy” and “a clear case of double standards,” given the continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

“The most significant and symbolic item presented by Nigeria at the meeting was her tacit recognition of a Palestinian State,” the statement read.

“Therefore, the question being asked by the Igbo National Union–Worldwide is this: did Nigeria act because other nations did so, or did she suddenly recognize the importance of freedom for indigenous peoples? Or was it simply an individual decision by the Vice President in solidarity with his Muslim brothers?”

The group said Nigeria had no moral right to champion the freedom of indigenous peoples elsewhere while “hundreds of pro-Biafra agitators” were allegedly detained in correctional centres and police cells across the country.

“Nigeria must purge herself of such hypocrisy by releasing all prisoners of conscience—epitomized by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu—and save herself from international embarrassment. That is the irony of recognizing a Palestinian State while denying Biafra’s right to self-determination,” INU-W stated.

The organisation further cautioned against granting Africa, particularly Nigeria, a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, citing widespread insecurity and corruption across the continent.

“Nigeria, with the highest rate of insecurity, criminality, and corruption in almost all the 36 states and the FCT, lacks the moral justification and capacity to be admitted into the Security Council as a permanent member.

“Charity, they say, begins at home. Nigeria must first fix the insecurity ravaging her land, which has claimed countless lives and destroyed infrastructure, before seeking to play a global leadership role,” the group added.

Venezuelan Opposition Leader María Corina Machado Wins The Nobel Peace Prize

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado holds up tally sheets during a protest against the reelection of President Nicolás Maduro one month after the disputed presidential vote which she says the opposition won by a landslide, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado holds up tally sheets during a protest against the reelection of President Nicolás Maduro one month after the disputed presidential vote which she says the opposition won by a landslide, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

BY KOSTYA MANENKOV, REGINA GARCIA CANO AND GEIR MOULSON

OSLO, NORWAY (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”

The former opposition presidential candidate is a “key, unifying figure” in the once deeply divided opposition to President Nicolás Maduro’s government, said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee.

“In the past year, Ms. Machado has been forced to live in hiding,” Watne Frydnes said. “Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”

Machado says she’s humbled and grateful

Machado’s ally, Edmundo González, who lives in exile in Spain, celebrated the Nobel award as a “very well-deserved recognition” of her fight and that of Venezuelans for freedom and democracy. He posted a short video on X of himself speaking by phone with Machado.

“I am in shock,” she said, adding, “I cannot believe it.”

“This is something that the Venezuelan people deserve,” Machado said in a call with the Norwegian Nobel Institute. “I am just part of a huge movement. ... I’m humbled, I’m grateful and I’m honored not only by this recognition, but I’m honored to be part of what’s going on in Venezuela today.”

“I believe that we are very close to achieving, finally, freedom for our country and peace for the region,” she said, adding that “even though we face the most brutal violence, our society has resisted” and insisted on struggling by peaceful means. “I believe that the world will now understand how urgent it is to finally, you know, succeed.”

Crackdown on dissent

Maduro’s government has routinely targeted its real or perceived opponents.

Machado, who turned 58 this week, was set to run against Maduro in last year’s presidential election, but the government disqualified her. González, who had never run for office before, took her place. The lead-up to the election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations.

The crackdown on dissent only increased after the country’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary.

The election results announced by the Electoral Council sparked protests across the country to which the government responded with force that ended with more than 20 people dead. They also prompted an end to diplomatic relations between Venezuela and various foreign countries, including Argentina.

Machado went into hiding and has not been seen in public since January. A Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for González over the publication of election results. He went into exile in Spain and was granted asylum.

More than 800 people are in prison in Venezuela for political reasons, according to the human rights advocacy group Foro Penal. Among them is González’s son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, who was detained in January.

Dozens of those prisoners actively participated in Machado’s efforts last year. Some of her closest collaborators, including her campaign manager, avoided prison by sheltering for more than a year at a diplomatic compound in Caracas. They remained there until May, when they fled to the U.S.

Early Friday in Caracas, some people heading to work expressed disbelief at the news of Machado’s win.

“I don’t know what can be done to improve the situation, but she deserves it,” said Sandra Martínez, 32, as she waited at a bus stop. “She’s a great woman.”

There was no immediate reaction from Maduro’s government.

Support for Machado and the opposition in general has decreased since the July 2024 election — particularly since January, when Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term and disappointment set in.

Machado was included in Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in April. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote her entry, in which he described her as “the Venezuelan Iron Lady” and “the personification of resilience, tenacity, and patriotism.”

Machado becomes the 20th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, of the 112 individuals who have been honored.

Speculation about Trump’s Nobel chances

There had been persistent speculation ahead of the announcement about the possibility of the prize going to U.S. President Donald Trump, fueled in part by the president himself and amplified by this week’s approval of his plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Asked about lobbying for and by Trump, Watne Frydnes said: “I think this committee has seen any type of campaign, media attention. We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say what for them leads to peace.

“This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates, and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. So we base only our decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”

White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a post on X Friday morning that “President Trump will continue making peace deals around the world, ending wars, and saving lives.” He added that “the Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”

The peace prize is the only one of the annual Nobel prizes to be awarded in Oslo, Norway.

Four of the other prizes have already been awarded in the Swedish capital, Stockholm this week — in medicine on Monday, physics on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The winner of the prize in economics will be announced on Monday.

Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City and Moulson from Berlin. Jorge Rueda contributed from Caracas, Venezuela, and Mike Corder from The Hague, Netherlands.

AP coverage of Nobel Prizes: https://apnews.com/hub/nobel-prizes

Hungarian Writer László Krasznahorkai Wins The Nobel Prize In literature

Hungary’s Laszlo Krasznahorkai poses for photographers in London, Tuesday, May 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

BY KOSTYA MANENKOV, JILL LAWLESS AND MIKE CORDER

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, whose philosophical, bleakly funny novels often unfold in single sentences, won the Nobel Prize in literature Thursday for his “compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.”

The Nobel judges praised his “artistic gaze which is entirely free of illusion, and which sees through the fragility of the social order combined with his unwavering belief in the power of art,” Steve Sem-Sandberg of the Nobel committee said at the announcement.

“László Krasznahorkai is a great epic writer in the Central European tradition that extends through (Franz) Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterized by absurdism and grotesque excess,” the Nobel judges said.

The work that won the Nobel Prize in literature

Zsuzsanna Varga, a Hungarian literature expert at the University of Glasgow, said Krasznahorkai’s apocalyptic and surreal novels probe the “utter hopelessness of the condition of human existence,” while also managing to be “incredibly funny.”

Varga said Krasznahorkai’s near-endless sentences made his books the “Hotel California” of literature – once readers get into it, “you can never leave.”

Other books include “The Melancholy of Resistance,” a surreal, disturbing tale set in a small Hungarian town, and “Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming,” the sprawling saga of a gambling-addicted aristocrat.

Several works, including his debut, “Satantango,” and “The Melancholy of Resistance” were turned into films by Hungarian director Béla Tarr.

Varga suggested readers new to Krasznahorkai’s work start with “Satantango,” his debut, which set the tone for what was to follow.

“Satan who is dancing a tango — I mean, how surreal can you be?” she said.

Krasznahorkai has also written several books inspired by his travels to China and Japan, including “A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East,” published in Hungarian in 2003.

How Krasznahorkai came to win

Sem-Sandberg said that Krasznahorkai had been on the Nobel radar for some time, “and he has been writing and creating one outstanding work after another.” He called his literary output “almost half a century of pure excellence.”

Krasznahorkai, 71, couldn’t immediately be reached for his reaction. He didn’t speak at the announcement.

He was born in the southeastern Hungarian city of Gyula, near the border with Romania, and has since traveled the world. Throughout the 1970s, he studied law at universities in Szeged and Budapest before shifting his focus to literature.

Krasznahorkai has been a vocal critic of autocratic Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, especially his government’s lack of support for Ukraine after the Russian invasion.

But in a post on Facebook, Orbán was quick to congratulate the writer, saying: “The pride of Hungary, the first Nobel Prize winner from Gyula, László Krasznahorkai. Congratulations!”

In an interview with Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet earlier this year, Krasznahorkai expressed criticism both of Orbán’s political system and the nationalism present in Hungarian society.

“There is no hope left in Hungary today and it is not only because of the Orbán regime,” he told the paper. “The problem is not only political, but also social.”

He also reflected on the fact that he has long been a contender for the Nobel Prize in literature, saying: “I don’t want to lie. It would be very interesting to get that prize. But I would be very surprised if I got it.”

Previous awards for Krasznahorkai and the other Nobels this year

Krasznahorkai has received many earlier awards, including the 2015 Man Booker International Prize. The Booker judges praised his “extraordinary sentences, sentences of incredible length that go to incredible lengths, their tone switching from solemn to madcap to quizzical to desolate as they go their wayward way.”

He also won the National Book Award for Translated Literature in the U.S. in 2019 for “Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming.”

The American writer and critic Susan Sontag once described Krasznahorkai as the “contemporary master of the Apocalypse.” He was also friends with American poet and writer Allen Ginsberg and would regularly stay in Ginsberg’s apartment while visiting New York City.

He’s the first winner from Hungary since Imre Kertesz in 2002. He joins an illustrious list of laureates that includes Ernest Hemingway, Toni Morrison and Kazuo Ishiguro.

The literature prize has been awarded by the Nobel committee of the Swedish Academy 117 times to a total of 121 winners. Last year’s prize was won by South Korean author Han Kang for her body of work that the committee said “confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”

The literature prize is the fourth to be announced this week, following the 2025 Nobels in medicine, physics and chemistry.

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday. The final Nobel, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, will be announced on Monday.

Nobel Prize award ceremonies are held on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896. Nobel was a wealthy Swedish industrialist and the inventor of dynamite who founded the prizes.

Each prize carries an award of 11 million Swedish kronor (nearly $1.2 million), and the winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and a diploma.

Mike Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands, and Jill Lawless from London. Justin Spike contributed to this report from Budapest, Hungary.

Trump's Top Africa Envoy Says ‘Continent Doesn’t Need Charity’

Massad Boulos

BY PREETI JHA

The US State Department’s senior Africa adviser on Wednesday said that the continent “doesn’t need charity,” driving home President Donald Trump’s message that Washington should build a new relationship with Africa based on trade, not aid.

“We strongly believe that the African continent doesn’t need charity,” Massad Boulos said at Semafor’s The Next 3 Billion summit. “The African continent is very rich. It has its own resources, and I’m not talking only about natural resources, but its human resources. So we need to establish those partnerships.”

Boulos, a businessman who also serves as a senior adviser to US President Donald Trump on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, stressed that his mandate in Africa was based on three Ps: peace, partnerships, and prosperity.

He argued that Washington’s approach under the Trump administration was “not transactional,” but designed for “the long run.” Boulos stressed that any partnerships would be “win-win in nature… nobody is taking advantage of anybody else.”

Trump held his first multilateral meeting with leaders from the continent in July, hosting top officials from five West African countries known for being rich in highly sought-after critical minerals.

Boulos added that a US-brokered peace deal signed in June between DR Congo and Rwanda was a successful outcome of Trump’s new approach to the continent. Despite the deal, fighting has continued in DR Congo’s eastern region. Boulos said the agreement was a piece of a larger “puzzle” that still needs to be completed — with negotiations in Doha involving the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and Kinshasa still ongoing.

Know More

The Trump administration’s push for conflict resolution in DR Congo has been linked to a strategic bid by the US for access to the country’s estimated $25 trillion mineral wealth, Semafor reported in August, as well as an attempt to counter China’s dominance on the continent.

Boulos has spent a large part of his professional life in Nigeria, where he has been involved in several businesses, including a trucking and heavy machinery company. He also played an active role as an emissary to Arab American voters during last year’s US presidential election, pitching Trump as a candidate who would bring peace to the Middle East, and his son, Michael Boulos, is married to Trump’s daughter, Tiffany Trump.

READ ORIGINAL STORY HERE

Nigerian Christians Afraid To Gather As Attacks By Islamist Herders Mount

BY TONY ONYULO

LAGOS, NIGERIA (RNS) — Ruth Abah, 28, no longer walks to her local church, St. Paul’s, which now lies in ashes. Instead, the mother of two locks her doors and prays with her children, fearful the next attack could come at any moment.

On Aug. 11, suspected Fulani herdsmen stormed the compound of the Catholic church in the village of Aye-Twar, in central Nigeria, setting the church, rectory and parish offices ablaze along with vehicles and other property. Earlier raids had already forced the parish’s 26 outstations to shut down.

The latest assaults have sent the remaining residents fleeing into the bush, leaving the parish grounds and surrounding community eerily deserted.

The destruction of St. Paul’s is a stark sign of how attacks by Fulani “jihadists” is hollowing out once-thriving Christian communities across the region. Known as Nigeria’s “food basket,” Benue state has become a center of the violence that has left thousands dead this year.

“I used to be in church every Sunday, singing in the choir,” Abah said in a phone interview. “Now I keep the doors locked. If I hear voices shouting at night, I pray silently. If they see me walking to church with a Bible, they could kill me.”

A new report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, known as Intersociety, paints a grim picture. In the first seven months of 2025 alone, Islamist groups killed 7,087 Christians and abducted 7,800 others because of their faith. The country now sees an average of 30 Christians killed every day, making Nigeria the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian.

Emeka Umeagbalasi, lead researcher and chair of Intersociety, described the situation as a “brutal massacre” of “defenseless Christians” and warned that unchecked killings and abductions are wiping out entire communities.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with more than 236 million people, has been plagued by Islamist violence for more than a decade, particularly in its northern and central regions. The insurgency began with Boko Haram, an extremist Islamist group that launched an armed campaign in 2009 to establish a caliphate and enforce a strict interpretation of Shariah.

The group gained international notoriety in 2014 after abducting 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, sparking the global #BringBackOurGirls campaign. Though weakened by military offensives, Boko Haram splintered, and its more brutal faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province, continues to carry out mass killings, kidnappings and church burnings.

Christians, who make up about half of Nigeria’s population, have borne the brunt of the violence, especially in the region called the Middle Belt, where Muslim herders and largely Christian farming communities clash over land and resources. Armed Fulani militias — some linked to jihadist groups — increasingly target villages, pastors and churches, displacing communities and leaving farmlands abandoned.

“The attacks are strategic,” said Peter Akachukwu, a security analyst in Lagos. “Targeting Christians sows fear, displaces communities and opens up land for occupation. It destabilizes the state and undermines faith in government protection.”

Across Nigeria’s Middle Belt and northern states, congregations at Sunday services are shrinking. Families who once filled pews now pray quietly at home, afraid of becoming the next victims. Some travel long distances to find safer congregations; others have stopped attending altogether.

Pastor Emmanuel Ochefu, who leads a small Pentecostal church outside Makurdi in Benue state, said in a phone interview that attendance has dropped by more than half this year.

“People call me during the week asking if the service will be safe, if the roads are clear,” he said. “Some decide to stay home rather than risk being kidnapped or attacked. I preach hope, I preach courage, but fear is stronger than my words right now.”

To keep worship alive, Ochefu has shortened services, started holding them earlier in the day and shifted some meetings to private homes. He sends recorded sermons and Bible verses by phone to members too scared to attend. “But church is meant to be together,” he said. “You can’t hug someone through a phone.”

Church leaders say the Aug. 11 assault was not just an attack on property but an assault on faith itself.

In a statement, the Nigeria Catholic Diocesan Priests’ Association condemned the attack as “barbaric” and “an attack on the Church,” saying it led to the “desecration and destruction of the Parish Church, the Parish Secretariat, the Father’s House and many other valuable items.”

They urged the government to rebuild the parish and its outstations and to deploy security forces to protect vulnerable communities, warning that continued inaction could lead to more deaths and displacements, further weakening Christian presence in the region.

The violence is reshaping what it means to be Christian in Nigeria. Believers now hide crosses, avoid public prayer and strip Christian symbols from their cars and homes.

“If I stopped being Christian, maybe my life would be easier,” Abah said. “But I cannot. My mother taught me this faith, and my children sleep under crosses. Faith is everything, but faith is heavy now.”

The Nigerian government insists the violence is driven by ethnic and land-use conflicts rather than religion alone, but human rights groups argue Christians are targeted specifically for their faith and are urging stronger protections, faster response times and accountability for perpetrators.

For now, pastors like Ochefu keep showing up, even if only a handful gather. “Even if just 10 people come next Sunday, I will preach,” he said. “The church is not just a building. As long as one believer remains, there is hope.”

Trump Tells UN In Speech That It Is ‘Not Even Coming Close To Living Up’ To Its Potential

President Donald Trump walks from Marine One with Col. Christopher Robinson, right, commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

BY AAMER MADHANI AND FARNOUSH AMIRI

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Donald Trump castigated the United Nations as a feckless institution in a speech to the world body on Tuesday, praising the turn America has taken under his leadership while warning Europe will be ruined if it doesn’t turn away from a “double-tailed monster” of ill-conceived migration and green energy policies.

His roughly hourlong speech before the U.N. General Assembly was both grievance-filled and self-congratulatory as he used the platform to applaud his second-term achievements and lament that some of his fellow world leaders’ countries were “going to hell.”

The address was the latest reminder for U.S. allies and foes that the United States — after a four-year interim under the more internationalist President Joe Biden — has returned to an unapologetically “America First” posture with an antagonistic view toward the United Nations. Trump also sharply criticized the global body for inaction, saying it was filled with “empty words” that “don’t solve wars.”

“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump said. “The U.N. has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential. But it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential.”

Afterward, Trump attempted to assuage fears from some diplomats by assuring the top U.N. leader that the U.S. remained “100%” supportive of the global body despite his earlier criticism.

“I may disagree with it sometimes, but I am so behind it because the potential for peace at this institution is great,” Trump told Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

It was another about-face after Trump offered a weave of jarring juxtapositions in his address to the assembly.

He trumpeted himself as a peacemaker and enumerated successes of his administration’s efforts in several hotspots around the globe. At the same time, Trump heralded his decisions to order the U.S. military to carry out strikes on Iran and more recently against alleged drug smugglers from Venezuela and argued that “globalists” are on the verge of destroying successful nations.

Warnings about ‘green scam’ and migration

Trump touted his administration’s policies allowing for expanded drilling for oil and natural gas in the United States, and aggressively cracking down on illegal immigration, implicitly suggesting more countries should follow suit.

He sharply warned that European nations that have more welcoming migration policies and commit to expensive energy projects aimed at reducing their carbon footprint were causing irreparable harm to their economies and cultures.

“I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the ‘green energy’ scam, your country is going to fail,” Trump said. “If you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before that you have nothing in common with, your country is going to fail.”

Trump added, “I love the people of Europe, and I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double-tailed monster destroys everything in its wake, and they cannot let that happen any longer.”

Trump makes dramatic shift on Russia-Ukraine war

Trump also addressed Russia’s war in Ukraine, once again threatening to hit Moscow with “a very strong round of powerful tariffs” if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not come to the table to end the war.

He waited until after the speech, and a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to announce a dramatic shift in his position on the war: He said he now believes Ukraine, with the help of NATO, can win back all territory lost to Russia.

Trump wrote in part in his post. “I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form. With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option.”

The strengthened support from Trump, if it sticks, is a huge win for Zelenskyy, who has urged the American president to keep up the pressure on Putin to end his brutal war on Ukraine.

Trump going back to his 2024 campaign insisted that he would quickly end the war. And he’s frequently suggested that U.S. interests in the outcome were limited.

“Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win,” Trump wrote. “This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’”

Trump speaks out on Palestinian statehood push

The president also pushed back on longtime American allies who are using this year’s General Assembly to spotlight the growing international campaign for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move that the U.S. and Israel vehemently oppose.

France became the latest nation to recognize Palestinian statehood on Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the U.N. aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict.

Trump sharply criticized the effort.

“The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists,” Trump said. “This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including Oct. 7.”

The president also took part in a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan for talks focused on ending the Gaza war.

“This is my most important meeting,” Trump said. “But this is the one that’s very important to me because we’re going to end something that should have probably never started.”
Trump pokes at UN for escalator, teleprompter issues

Early in his speech, Trump broke from his prepared remarks to bemoan an inoperable escalator in U.N. headquarters that he happened upon as well as a defective teleprompter.

“These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter,” Trump poked, eliciting laughs from delegates and leaders.

A U.N. official said the United Nations understands that someone from the president’s party who ran ahead of him inadvertently triggered the stop mechanism on the escalator. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the White House was operating the teleprompter for the president.

Trump has Oslo dreams

The president again made clear that he wants to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, repeating his spurious claim that he’s “ended seven wars” since he returned to office.

“Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Prize — but for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless wars,” Trump said in his address.

Trump regularly points to his administration’s efforts to end several conflicts around the world, including fighting between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, and Egypt and Sudan.

“It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them,” Trump said. “Sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them.”

Although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations, experts say his impact isn’t as clear cut as he claims.

Associated Press writers Jamey Keaton in Geneva, Switzerland, Tracy Brown and Darlene Superville in Washington, Bill Barrow in Atlanta, and Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report.