Bandits kill 12 forest guards in north-central Nigeria, police say

At least 12 members of a local forest guard unit were killed when armed men attacked the town of Oke-Ode in Kwara state, north-central Nigeria, police said on Monday.

The attack underscores worsening insecurity in northwest and central Nigeria, where armed gangs known locally as bandits have carried out mass killings, kidnappings and raids on rural communities. Kwara police spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi said the gunmen stormed a local government building at about 0600 GMT on Sunday, firing at random.

Four people were wounded in the attack and are receiving treatment in hospital, police said. Those killed included the local traditional chief. Kwara state’s Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq condemned the attack and called for an increased military presence in the area. In response, the Nigerian army headquarters deployed troops to Kwara to oversee operations, the governor’s office said in a statement. Police said troops and forest security were conducting a joint search for the perpetrators of the attack.

“Those responsible will be brought to justice,” Ejire-Adeyemi said.

Guinea announces first post-coup presidential vote on Dec 28

Guinea will on December 28 hold its first presidential election since a coup in 2021, according to a decree read on state television.

The announcement was made on Saturday, a day after the Supreme Court validated the results of a referendum approving a new constitution that could allow coup leader Mamady Doumbouya to run. Doumbouya has not said whether he plans to.

The coup in Guinea was one of eight that swept West and Central Africa between 2020 and 2023. Guinea is of international financial significance as the home to the world’s largest reserves of bauxite. It also has the world’s richest untapped iron ore deposit at Simandou.

Some countries that experienced coups, such as Chad and Gabon, have since held elections formally marking transitions to civilian rule, while others, including Mali and Niger, have approved lengthy transition periods without the need for a vote. Doumbouya’s government proposed a two-year transition to elections in 2022 after negotiating with regional bloc ECOWAS, but it missed that deadline.

The new constitution replaces the transitional framework that had barred members of the junta from contesting elections, opening the door for Doumbouya’s candidacy. It also introduces institutional changes, such as longer presidential terms, from five years to seven, renewable once, and a new Senate. It passed with 89% of the vote, according to results published late Friday by the Supreme Court that put turnout at 92%.

Opposition politicians have contested the turnout figure, saying it did not square with their observations at polling stations that indicated sparse voter participation.

Ivory Coast cocoa grind down 36.2% year-on-year in August, exporters association says

Ivory Coast’s cocoa grind dropped 36.2% year-on-year in August to 39,276 metric tonnes compared with the same period a year ago, data from exporter association GEPEX showed on Monday.

The total grind from the start of the 2024/25 season in October stood at 554,430 tonnes of beans by the end of August, down 7.3% compared with the same period last season.

The GEPEX data covers six of the largest grinding companies, including Barry Callebaut BARN.S BARN.S, Olam OLAG.SI and Cargill Inc CARG.UL.

Ivory Coast has a total grinding capacity of around 750,000 tonnes. It is the world’s top cocoa producer and vies with the Netherlands as the leading grinder.

China signs deal with Zambia, Tanzania for $1.4 billion railway upgrade

China, Zambia and Tanzania on Monday signed a $1.4 billion deal to refurbish the Tanzania-Zambia railway, a vital route for shipping copper exports from the region, Zambia’s government said.

The deal aims to rehabilitate the railway and purchase locomotives, passenger coaches and wagons.

Last year China signed an initial agreement to revive the 50-year-old TAZARA railway, as it is widely known, at a time the United States was throwing its financial weight behind a rival transport corridor for minerals called Lobito, after an Angolan port.

TAZARA offers a way to bypass logistics bottlenecks in South Africa that have slowed copper and cobalt exports.

Nigeria approves Shell, Agip buyout of TotalEnergies’ stake in Bonga oilfield

Nigeria’s oil regulator has approved a $510 million deal by TotalEnergies TTEF.PA to sell its entire 12.5% interest in oil mining lease (OML) 118, which hosts the offshore Bonga oilfield, to the field’s operator Shell SHEL.L, and Agip ENI.MI, the agency said on Thursday.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said TotalEnergies will transfer 10% of its interest to Shell at a cost of $408 million while Agip will pay $102 million for the remaining 2.5%.

The deal raises Shell’s stake in Bonga to 65%, highlighting its continued interest in offshore Nigeria production after selling its spill-plagued onshore assets to Renaissance, a consortium of four local companies and an international energy group.