West Africa

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has proposed closing the runway at Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, for approximately 25 days to carry out essential repairs and resurfacing work. The proposed closure is expected to begin on 20 October 2026, but FAAN says the dates are not yet final. According to a statement

Twenty prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted along the Owerri–Onitsha Road in Imo State have regained their freedom, according to reports published on Wednesday, 7 October. PUNCH reported that the graduates were receiving treatment at the Department of State Services Hospital in Owerri. The newspaper said the managing director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria

Senegal has postponed the start of the school year nationwide until Monday, 12 October, following heavy rainfall and flooding that damaged schools and disrupted communities. Pupils were originally due to return on Wednesday, 7 October. The Education Ministry announced the postponement on Tuesday, according to Senegal’s public news agency, APS⁠. The ministry said the decision reflected

Mali’s transitional government says its armed forces have recaptured the northern city of Kidal, with support from Russia’s Africa Corps. According to the Associated Press⁠, government spokesman Brigadier General Issa Ousmane Coulibaly announced the operation in a statement read on state television on Tuesday, 6 October. The Azawad Liberation Front, known as the FLA, acknowledged withdrawing

President Bola Tinubu has declared three days of national mourning for those killed in Monday’s Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in Ondo State. In a statement issued on 5 October⁠, the State House said flags should fly at half-mast across Nigeria in honour of the Air Force personnel who died. Tinubu also ordered the Air Force

A Nigerian Air Force aircraft crashed near Igbokoda in Ondo State on Monday, 5 October, with 32 people believed to have been on board, according to preliminary information from Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo. Search and rescue operations are under way. Authorities have not confirmed how many people survived or died. The aircraft was travelling from

An €18 million European Union payment to Sierra Leone is on hold, but officials have offered conflicting explanations for the decision. Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel said the payment was suspended to press Sierra Leone to arrest and hand over Jos Leijdekkers, a Dutch national convicted of cocaine trafficking. He also said a payment