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.

Why Burkina Faso's Junta Leader Has Captured Hearts And Minds Around The World

BY FAROUK CHOTHIA

A charismatic 37-year-old, Burkina Faso's military ruler Capt Ibrahim Traoré has skilfully built the persona of a pan-Africanist leader determined to free his nation from what he regards as the clutches of Western imperialism and neo-colonialism.

His message has resonated across Africa and beyond, with his admirers seeing him as following in the footsteps of African heroes like Burkina Faso's very own Thomas Sankara - a Marxist revolutionary who is sometimes referred to as "Africa's Che Guevara".

"Traoré's impact is huge. I have even heard politicians and authors in countries like Kenya [in East Africa] say: 'This is it. He is the man'," Beverly Ochieng, a senior researcher at global consultancy firm Control Risks, told the BBC.

"His messages reflect the age we are living in, when many Africans are questioning the relationship with the West, and why there is still so much poverty in such a resource-rich continent," she said.

After seizing power in a coup in 2022, Traoré's regime ditched former colonial power France in favour of a strong alliance with Russia, that has included the deployment of a Russian paramilitary brigade, and adopted left-wing economic policies.

This included setting up a state-owned mining company, requiring foreign firms to give it a 15% stake in their local operations and to transfer skills to Burkinabé people.

The rule also applied to Russian miner Nordgold, which was given a licence in late April for its latest investment in Burkina Faso's gold industry.

As part of what Traoré calls a "revolution" to ensure Burkina Faso benefits from its mineral wealth, the junta is also building a gold refinery and establishing national gold reserves for the first time in the nation's history.

However, Western-owned firms appear to be facing a tough time, with Australia-headquartered Sarama Resources launching arbitration proceedings against Burkina Faso in late 2024 following the withdrawal of an exploration licence.

The junta has also nationalised two gold mines previously owned by a London-listed firm, and said last month that it planned to take control of more foreign-owned mines.

Enoch Randy Aikins, a researcher at South Africa's Institute for Security Studies, told the BBC that Traoré's radical reforms had increased his popularity in Africa.

"He is now arguably Africa's most popular, if not favourite, president," Mr Aikins said.

His popularity has been fuelled through social media, including many misleading posts intended to bolster his revolutionary image.

AI-generated videos of music stars like R Kelly, Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Beyoncé are seen immortalising him through song - though they have done nothing of the sort.

Ms Ochieng said that Traoré first caught the attention of Africans when he spoke at the Russia-Africa summit in 2023, telling African leaders to "stop behaving like puppets who dance every time the imperialists pull the strings".

This speech was heavily publicised by Russian media, which has become a major player in promoting Traoré's pan-Africanist image.

Thanks to his rhetoric and pushed by a slick social media campaign, his appeal has spread around the world, including among African-Americans and Black Britons, Ms Ochieng noted.

"Everyone who has experienced racism, colonialism and slavery can relate to his messages," Ms Ochieng said, pointing out that African-American rapper Meek Mill had posted about him on X late last year, saying how much he liked his "energy and heart" - though he was ridiculed for mixing up names by referring to Traoré as Burkina Faso and later deleted the post.

But France's president is not a fan, describing Traoré as part of a "baroque alliance between self-proclaimed pan-Africans and neo-imperialists".

Emmanuel Macron was also referring to Russia and China whom he accused, in a 2023 speech, of provoking coups in Africa's former French colonies, and hypocritically stirring up old arguments over sovereignty and colonial exploitation.

Traoré's popularity comes despite the fact that he has failed to fulfil his pledge to quell a 10-year Islamist insurgency that has fuelled ethnic divisions and has now spread to once-peaceful neighbours like Benin.

His junta has also cracked down on dissent, including the opposition, media and civil society groups and punished critics, among them medics and magistrates, by sending them to the front-lines of the war against the jihadists.

For Rinaldo Depagne, the Africa deputy director of the International Crisis Group think-tank, Traoré commands such support because "he is young in a country with a young population" - the median age is 17.7 years.

"He is media-savvy, and uses the past to build his popularity as a reincarnation of Sankara," he told the BBC.

"And he knows the art of politics - how to make a nation completely traumatised by war feel there is a better future. He is really good at that game."

Sankara rose to power in a coup in 1983 at the age of 33, rallied the nation under the motto "Fatherland or death, we will win!", and was killed four years later in another coup that put Burkina Faso back in France's political orbit until Traoré's seizure of power.

Ghanaian security analyst Prof Kwesi Aning, who previously worked at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, said the popularity of the military leader reflected a political shift taking place on the continent, especially in West Africa.

A 2024 survey in 39 countries by Afrobarometer showed a drop in support for democracy, although it remained the most popular form of government.

"Democracy has failed to give hope to the youth. It has not delivered jobs or better education and health," Prof Aning told the BBC.

He said Traoré was "offering an alternative, and re-capturing the spirit of two historic epochs":

The post-independence era, when there were leaders like Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia


And a later era with Sankara and Ghana's Jerry Rawlings, whose coup in 1979 "was also very popular at the time".


It was Traoré who stole the show at the inauguration of Ghana's President John Mahama in January, when he arrived wearing battle fatigues with a pistol in his holster.

"There were already 21 heads of state there, but when Traoré walked in, the place lit up. Even my president's bodyguards were running after him," Prof Aning said.

Traoré offered a sharply contrasting image to some of the continent's other leaders, who struggled to walk but clung to power by rigging elections, he said.

"Traoré is stylish and confident, with a very open face and a small smile. He is also a powerful orator, and presents himself as a man of the people."

In a sign that his Russian-allied junta has made some progress on the economic front, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have given a generally upbeat assessment.

In a statement in early April, the IMF said that despite a "challenging humanitarian and security" environment, the economy was expected to remain "robust" in 2025, and the regime had made "commendable progress" in raising domestic revenue, containing the public wage bill, and increasing spending on education, health and social protection.

As for the World Bank, it said that inflation had surged from 0.7% in 2023 to 4.2% in 2024, but the extreme poverty rate, which refers to people living on less than $2.15 [£1.61] a day, had fallen by almost two percentage points to 24.9% because of "robust growth" in the agriculture and services sectors.

Despite these reports from US-based financial institutions, relations with both France and America have been frosty.

A recent example being the claim by the head of the US Africa Command, Gen Michael Langley, that Traoré was using Burkina Faso's gold reserves for his junta's protection rather than the nation's benefit.

This appeared to be a reference to the long-standing view of the US, and some of its African allies, that Russian forces were propping up Traoré in exchange for a stake in Burkina Faso's gold industry - undermining the military ruler's image as a leader who expelled French troops in 2023 to reclaim the country's sovereignty.

Gen Langley's comments, made in early April during a US Senate committee hearing, triggered an uproar among the captain's supporters, who felt their hero was being smeared.

This was further inflamed when shortly afterwards, the Burkinabé junta said it had foiled a coup plot, alleging the plotters were based in neighbouring Ivory Coast - where Gen Langley then made a visit.


Ivory Coast denied being involved in any plot, while the US Africa Command said Gen Langley's visit had focused on addressing "common security challenges" - including "violent extremism".

But the junta took the opportunity to organise one of its biggest rallies in Burkina Faso's capital over fears that "imperialists" and their "lackeys" were trying to depose the captain.

"Because Colin Powell lied, Iraq was destroyed. Barack Obama lied, Gaddafi was killed. But this time, their lies won't affect us," one protester, musician Ocibi Johann, told the Associated Press news agency.

Rallies in solidarity with Traoré were also held abroad, including in London, on the same day.

He took to social media afterwards, posting in French and English, to express his gratitude to them for sharing his vision "for a new Burkina Faso and a new Africa", adding: "Together, in solidarity, we will defeat imperialism and neo-colonialism for a free, dignified and sovereign Africa."

It is impossible to say how things will end for the young captain, but he - along with military leaders in Mali and Niger - have certainly shaken up West Africa, and other states have followed their example by ordering French forces to leave.

The three military-ruled neighbours have also pulled out of the regional trade and security grouping Ecowas, formed their own alliance, and have ended free trade in the region by announcing the imposition of a 0.5% tariff on goods coming into their countries.

Mr Aikins said Traoré could learn from others, pointing out that when Rawlings took power in Ghana at the age of 32, he was known as "Junior Jesus" but after 19 years he left a mixed legacy - he had been unable to stem corruption despite helping to create an "enduring" democracy.

For a "lasting legacy", Mr Aikins said, Traoré should focus on achieving peace and building strong state institutions to bring about good governance rather than "personalising" power and cracking down on dissent.

.........BBC AFRICA

South Africa: Wealthy Gupta Brothers Arrested In UAE

BBC

Gupta Brothers

Two brothers from the wealthy Gupta family have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates, the South African government has announced.

Atul and Rajesh Gupta are accused in South Africa of profiting from their close links with former president Jacob Zuma and exerting unfair influence.

Extradition talks are taking place with the UAE, South African officials say.

The brothers fled South Africa after a judicial commission began probing their involvement in corruption in 2018.

They are accused of paying financial bribes in order to win lucrative state contracts and influence powerful government appointments.

Many of the most serious corruption allegations levelled against the Indian-born brothers focus on their relationship with Jacob Zuma, who was president of South Africa from 2009 until he was forced to step down amid a storm of corruption allegations nine years later.

The Gupta family is accused of using their close links with Mr Zuma to wield enormous political power across all levels of South African government - winning business contracts, influencing high-profile government appointments and misappropriating state funds.

Mr Zuma and the Guptas deny any wrongdoing.

After the brothers fled the country, South Africa negotiated an extradition treaty with the UAE in 2021.

President Cyril Ramaphosa's government has said it hoped the agreement would lead to the return of the Guptas to face charges, but it was not immediately clear following the arrests whether the brothers will return to South Africa.

The Gupta family became so closely linked with Mr Zuma that a joint term was even coined for them - the Zuptas.

One of Mr Zuma's wives, as well as a son and daughter, had positions working in senior roles for Gupta-controlled companies.

Many of the companies in the Gupta portfolio profited from lucrative contracts with government departments and state-owned corporations - where public officials say they were directly instructed by the family to take decisions that would advance the brothers' business interests.

It is alleged that compliance was rewarded with money and promotion, while disobedience was punished with dismissal.

The list of public bodies accused of having been "captured" is extensive - the ministries of finance, natural resources and public enterprises, as well as agencies responsible for tax collection and communications, the state broadcaster SABC, the national carrier, South African Airways, the state-owned rail-freight operator and the energy giant Eskom - one of the largest utility companies on the planet.

A four-year investigation later published by the country's top judge concluded that the wealthy brothers had become deeply embedded in the highest levels of government and Mr Zuma's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party.

Reports published this year by investigators accuse the brothers of being linked to racketeering activity through the procurement of rail, ports and pipeline infrastructure.

Its authors also concluded that Mr Zuma "would do anything that the Guptas wanted him to do for them".

Last year Mr Zuma was imprisoned for 15 months for refusing to testify before the same investigators. He was released on parole after serving two months of his sentence in jail.
Who are the Gupta brothers?

Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta moved to South Africa from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in 1993, just after the fall of apartheid.

It is said that when Atul arrived to set up the family business Sahara Computers, he was amazed by the lack of red tape.

They grew the company to employ more than 10,000 people in South Africa, also developing financial interests in the mining, air travel, energy, technology and media sectors.

Atul Gupta said he met Mr Zuma before he became president "when he was a guest in one of Sahara's annual functions".

Nigeria's 100-Year-Old Death-Row Inmate Seeking Pardon

Paul and Celestine Egbunuche have been in jail for 18 years and on death row for four years

BY YEMISI ADEGOKE

ENUGU (BBC)--Death-row inmate Celestine Egbunuche has been dubbed Nigeria's "oldest prisoner" amid a campaign calling for his release.

He is 100 years old and has spent 18 years in jail after being found guilty of organizing a murder.

Small and slightly hunched over, he looks wistfully into space as he sits on a tightly packed bench inside a stuffy prison visitor's room.

Dressed in a white T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, he lifts his head slowly - his way of acknowledging our presence.

But otherwise he remains quiet during our visit - in stark contrast to the rest of the room that is filled with loud chatter at Enugu Maximum Security Prison in south-east Nigeria.

His son Paul Egbunuche, 41, sits protectively close to him - and does the talking. He is in jail on the same murder charge.

They were both accused of hiring people to kidnap and kill a man over an alleged land dispute in Imo state.

Paul maintains their innocence. They were detained in June 2000 and eventually convicted and sentenced to death in 2014.

It has not been possible to contact the family of the man who was killed - even the Nigeria prison service has been unable to find them.
'Confused and childlike'

As prison officials look on, he tells me that his father isn't really able to talk much any more and is no longer aware of his surroundings.

"When you ask him something, he says something else. The doctor told me that it is his age, he has become like a little pikin [child].

"There are some times when he will ask me: 'These people here [inmates], what are they doing here?'"

Paul says he rarely leaves his father's side now; he has been his primary carer since his health began to deteriorate in prison.

These health problems include diabetes and failing eyesight - and Paul uses what he can to manage them.

"The only thing I'm using to manage him is food, unripe plantain, and they [officials] give him some drugs."
Birthday photo

Father and son share a cell with other death-row prisoners, who are separated from the general population.

"When I wake up in the morning, I will boil water and bath him," Paul says. "I'll change his clothes then prepare food for him. If they open up [the cell] I'll take him out so the sun will touch him.

"I'm always close to him, discussing with him and playing with him."

Paul says the other inmates sometimes help him care for his father and that many of them want his father to be released.

It was after his father's 100th birthday on 4 August that events were set in motion that may lead to his release.

A photo of Paul and a frail looking Egbunuche went viral in August after a local paper did a story about him turning 100 in jail. It sparked a debate about the length of time Nigerians spend on death row and the place of capital punishment altogether.

The latest figures from the Nigerian Prisons Service show that more than 2,000 people are on death row in Nigeria, many of whom spend years waiting to be executed.

The death sentence is not commonly carried out in Nigeria. Between 2007 and 2017, there were seven executions - the last one taking place in 2016, Amnesty International reports.
Poverty and punishment

However, the death penalty is still meted out by judges for offences like treason, kidnapping and armed robbery.

"You have people who have spent 30 years on death row, it's common," says Pamela Okoroigwe, a lawyer for the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP).

"Governors are reluctant to sign [death warrants] and they're not willing to grant pardons - that's why we have a high number of death-row inmates."

Ms Okoroigwe says death row is a "punishment for the poor" and one that a growing number of Nigerians want abolished.

"Have you ever seen a rich man on death row?" she asks.

"How many people can afford to get a lawyer to represent them in court? A rich man who ended up in court can afford to get the best and he'll be free."

This sentiment is shared by Franklin Ezeona, president of the Global Society for Anti-Corruption (GSAC), the non-governmental organisation that brought Egbunuche's case to the public and has been petitioning for his pardon.

"If the man was the father of a governor or a minister, I don't think he would still be in prison," Mr Ezeona says.

"Poverty in most of African countries hinders justice."

He says it is unreasonable to keep people waiting for years on death row as "the trauma and the torture is too much".
'Everyone deserves a second chance'

Mr Ezeona says that he hopes that Egbunuche's case will prompt the government to review other cases and shine a light on the justice system as a whole.

"It will be good for the correctional system. It will show that with good behaviour, the government can give you a second chance."

"Everyone deserves a second chance."

And Egbunuche may get a second chance as he has been recommended for a pardon by Imo state's attorney general, Miletus Nlemedim.

It is now awaiting approval from Governor Rochas Okorocha.

Mr Nlemedim says numerous factors are taken into consideration when an inmate is recommended for pardon - age, time served and the approval of the prison staff.

The family of the victim has not been consulted about a possible release.

"What we do as a government is to try to remove ourselves from sentiment," he says.

According to Mr Nlemedim, the state's Ministry of Happiness offers the chance for reconciliation after a prisoner is released.

In this case Mr Ezeona says it may be unlikely to happen given the length of time that has passed and poor record-keeping.

Nonetheless, he is still confident Celestine Egbunuche will be pardoned.

"If we can't pardon a centenarian, who can we pardon?" he says.

Paul too is confident that his father will be pardoned - and is hopeful that he too will get a reprieve so he can care for him.

"It's good for him to be released. So he will die peacefully in his house rather than in prison," he says.

Nigeria's Bank Governor Sanusi "Threatened With Arrest"

Nigeria's House of Representatives speaker has threatened to order the arrest of the central bank chief and 14 others over the fate of $8bn (£5bn).

The office of speaker Aminu Tambuwal said he had signed arrest warrants for Lamido Sanusi and the other officials.

The warrants will be executed if they fail to appear before MPs to explain the whereabouts of money allegedly owed to the treasury, a spokesman said.

Mr Sanusi said he was unaware of the warrant and denied any wrongdoing.

He is widely respected in banking circles in Africa and the West. In 2011, he was named the Central Bank Governor of the Year by the global financial publication, The Banker.

Earlier this month, he called for the size of the House of Representatives, the 360-member lower chamber, to be reduced to free up money for development.

He also called for the number of public servants to be cut by half.

Mr Tambuwal's spokesman, Imam Imam, said other officials for whom warrants have been issued include Andrew Yakub, group managing director of the state-owned Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation's (NNPC), and National Pension Commission Director-General Muhammad Ahmad.

He said MPs would enforce the arrest warrants if the officials failed to appear before a parliamentary committee to account for the money.

The officials apparently have until Thursday to appear before MPs, reports the BBC's Chris Ewokor from the capital, Abuja.

The warrants were issued because the 15 officials are accused of refusing to honour several invitations to explain to MPs the alleged failure to transfer about $8bn to the treasury, he says.

However, a police spokesman told our correspondent he had no knowledge of the warrants.

Mr Sanusi told the BBC he was out of Nigeria, but the deputy governor would appear before MPs.

He said he was unaware of an arrest warrant for him.

"I personally don't believe the speaker signed such a warrant as these things are not personal," he said.

Mr Sanusi said the Central Bank of Nigeria has made remittances to the treasury in accordance with the law.

"Our accounts are audited by two reputable external auditors... No government agency or department even comes near our contribution to the budget," he said.

Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer, but most of its population lives in poverty.

Critics say corruption is endemic in the government and there is a lack of financial accountability.

BBC News

Nigerian officials arrested for Boko Haram attacks

Nigerian authorities have arrested a number of officials, accusing them of carrying out attacks for an Islamist militant group.

The military said they had captured an immigration officer who confessed to being an active member of Boko Haram.

His confession led to the arrest of a number of other officials.

Boko Haram has killed hundreds in northern and central Nigeria since 2009, when it launched a campaign to install an Islamic state.

The group's fighters have bombed government buildings and churches and assassinated Muslim clerics who disagreed with their views.

Their attacks have killed woman and children, Muslims and Christians.

Lt Colonel Sagir Musa said the immigration official was arrested last month while impersonating an army officer.

"He confessed to being an active member of the Boko Haram terrorist sect," said Col Musa.

"He also confessed to having been trained alongside 15 other members of the sect on weapon handling, assassination and special operations in Niger."

Col Musa said his testimony helped the military root out a number of others who had carried out attacks for Boko Haram.

Analysts have in the past said that the fight against Boko Haram was undermined because the Islamist group had managed to infiltrate the military.

Boko Haram shot to prominence in 2009 when hundreds of their members attempted to storm police stations and government buildings in Maiduguri.

The security forces quelled the rebellion and killed dozens of the sect's members, as well as its leader.

Since then, their attacks have been better organised and caused many more civilian deaths.

Nigeria is roughly divided between a largely Muslim north, and the south, where Christianity and traditional religions dominate.

..........BBC News

Nigeria suspends Hajj flights over women deportation

Nigeria has suspended all Hajj flights to Saudi Arabia after the authorities there deported more than 170 women who had arrived without a male escort.

About 1,000 Nigerian women intending to make the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca have been detained since Sunday.

A Nigerian government delegation is going to Saudi Arabia to complain.

There has been an understanding in the past that Nigerian women are exempt from travelling with a male relative - a requirement for women on the Hajj.

Nigerian diplomats say the agreement between the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria and the Saudi authorities allows visas to be issued for Nigerian women going to Mecca as long as they are accompanied by Hajj committee officials.

BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says it is not clear if this action was taken as part of an effort to clamp down on people entering Saudi Arabia illegally to work.

We're not happy about the situation - other than the Hajj we would not be interested in coming back to Saudi Arabia but unfortunately it is the holy land to us Muslims”

Bilkisu Nasidi Would-be Nigerian Hajj pilgrim

Since Sunday, hundreds of Nigerian women - mainly aged between 25 and 35, according to Nigerian diplomats - have been stopped at the airports in Jeddah and Medina.

Bilkisu Nasidi, who travelled from the northern Nigerian city of Katsina, told the BBC that hundreds of women had been sleeping on the floor, did not have their belongings and were sharing four toilets at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

She said she was part of a group of 512 women being deported to five states in Nigeria on Thursday.

With many of them now facing deportation, she said the atmosphere at the airport was not good, and the women felt "victimised".

The main problem was that their surnames did not correspond with those of their husbands or male guardian on visa documentation, she said.

It is a common practice for Muslim women in Nigeria not to take their husband's name.

"Honestly both governments are to blame, ours and theirs. They're telling us that our government has been aware of what are the requirements for the visa application and granting our visas," she told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme

"We're not happy about the situation - other than the Hajj we would not be interested in coming back to Saudi Arabia but unfortunately it is the holy land to us Muslims and we will have to look beyond the treatment and come back."

Nigeria's vice-president met the Saudi ambassador to Nigeria on Wednesday and gave him a 24-hour ultimatum for the situation to be resolved, the BBC's Chris Ewokor reports from the capital, Abuja.

The deportations have heightened concerns that the situation is threatening to develop into a diplomatic showdown, he says.

Nigeria's speaker of the House of Representatives is leading a government delegation - to include the foreign affairs minister - to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to resolve the situation.

More than two million Muslims are due to converge on Mecca for this year's Hajj, which is set to culminate over a four-day period somewhere between 24-29 October depending on lunar observations.

The Hajj is one of the pillars of Islam, which every adult Muslim must undertake at least once in their life if they can afford it and are physically able.

........BBC NEWS

NIGERIA: Tuesday Papers, May 29, 2012

BBC: Nigeria's President Jonathan 'must act over fuel scam'

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NIGERIAN TRIBUNE: Democracy Day... Democracy Day... Democracy Day... Democracy Day...

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THE MOMENT: Gunmen behead four policemen, village head, 29 others in C/River

THE MOMENT: Northern elite own three-quarters of Nigeria's oil blocks

VANGUARD: N32.8bn pension scam: Accused beg court to quash charge

VANGUARD: NAFDAC uncovers illegal drug factory in Onitsha

VANGUARD: Tension in Adamawa as Igbo protest killings

VANGUARD: Army court-martials 2 colonels, 12 others for alleged misconduct

PM NEWS: Shot Nigerian Council boss flown to India